DI Survey Finds Lawmakers Glum Over Country's Future

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پنجشنبه 13 حوت 1394 ساعت 09:30 نوشته شده توسط TOLOnews.com

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Democracy Inteational (DI) on Thursday released the findings of their latest survey on the opinions of parliamentarians on key issues including electoral reform, security, reconciliation with the Taliban and the NUG's performance among others and found that a substantial number of lawmakers are pessimistic about the future of Afghanistan.

The survey was conducted one year after the establishment of the National Unity Govement and involved members of the Meshrano Jirga and Wolesi Jirga (Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament respectively).

In a statement issued by DI, the organization states that at the time of the NUG's establishment the Afghan public was generally optimistic but a year later, the country was in crisis.

Key findings indicate that a substantial number of parliamentarians are pessimistic about the country's future because of poor goveance, insecurity and regional politics.

DI said in their statement: "Compared to DI's past nationwide surveys of Afghans, the current level of pessimism among members of parliament illustrates a staggering drop from the optimistic outlook Afghans had just after the National Unity Govement was established."

The organization said in 2014, 48 percent of Afghans said the country was headed in the right direction. However now, only seven percent of members of parliament said that the country is moving in the right direction.

The study also found that reconciliation with the Taliban is a divisive issue in parliament. "Although it is becoming increasingly unpopular among parliamentarians, a majority still support the effort," read their statement.

DI said that disagreement with the govement pursuing reconciliation has increased among parliamentarians from 26 percent in 2012 to 38 percent in 2014 to 40 percent in 2015.

"A reconciliation agreement would need to allow the Taliban a way to access the formal political process, but there is no consensus about what limitations, if any, should be placed on members of the Taliban," the survey found.

It also found that respondents were more willing to see Taliban members competing in elections for political office than being appointed. However, most respondents do not believe Taliban members should be able to run for president, stated DI.

Another key conce among parliamentarians is the deteriorating security situation in the country.
More than three-quarters of respondents said that security has worsened compared to last year and that it is the biggest problem facing the nation as a whole.

The survey found there was particular conce about Daesh with more than two thirds of respondents strongly conceed and 19 percent somewhat conceed regarding the group's presence in the country.
"Insecurity, terrorism, and violence have affected parliamentarians' ability to access their constituencies; 42 percent of respondents said it is nearly impossible to access their home province," said DI.

In addition, the survey found that security was most frequently selected (by 85% of respondents) as the issue parliament should prioritize. Other urgent issues included job creation, corruption, and govement oversight.

Parliamentarians also felt security was an important consideration for elections. Forty-four percent of respondents identified security as one of the most important areas to reform in order to reduce fraud in the upcoming parliamentary election.

Meanwhile, a majority of parliamentarians (41 percent) felt strongly that elections should be conducted regionally in phases so that limited security resources could be consolidated to provide stronger security for election day in each part of the country.

The survey also found that the parliament is largely dissatisfied with the NU Govement and believes the Hamid Karzai administration did a better job.

"Sixty-four percent of respondents are dissatisfied with President (Ashraf) Ghani's performance – 45 percent are very dissatisfied and 19 percent are somewhat dissatisfied. Less than five percent of respondents are very satisfied; another 27 percent are somewhat satisfied," read the statement.

The study also found that the parliamentarians are even more dissatisfied with Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah's performance. More than half of respondents are very dissatisfied with, and 20 percent are somewhat dissatisfied with, Abdullah.

Only three percent are very satisfied while 18 percent are somewhat satisfied. Notably, only 13 percent of respondents think the NUG administration is performing better than the Karzai administration, read the statement.

Meanwhile, parliamentarians believe electoral reform is necessary before elections and many believe the NUG has the political will to achieve reform.

More than three-quarters of respondents said that the 2014 presidential election result did not reflect the will of the Afghan people. "An overwhelming majority of parliamentarians (92 percent) believe it is necessary to implement comprehensive electoral reforms prior to the next election."

In addition, respondents were presented with four events and asked to prioritize them. Eighty-five percent said the electoral system should be reformed first. Large majorities said that the second event should be parliamentary elections (74%), the third event should be district council elections (70%), and the final event should be the constitutional Loya Jirga (78%).

These latest survey results come at a time that, according to DI, the security situation continues to deteriorate, the public has lost confidence in the NUG, the economy is failing, and Afghans that can emigrate are leaving in droves.

DI conducted the survey with parliamentarians in September and October last year in order to gauge their attitudes on electoral reform, security, reconciliation with the Taliban, and the National Unity Govement's (NUG) performance, among other important topics.

DI's researchers spent 46 days interviewing a total of 215 parliamentarians from both houses of parliament, which represents 67.8 percent of the National Assembly.

DI has worked to support the strengthening of Afghanistan's electoral process since 2009 - both through inteational election observation missions as well as by supporting domestic advocacy for electoral reform.

Currently, DI implements USAID's Afghanistan Electoral Reform and Civic Advocacy program (AERCA). AERCA's two primary components are to support Afghan-led advocacy efforts for electoral and democratic reform and to conduct research that can inform and encourage the debate on reform.

To read the full report click here.

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