|
|
|
Map of Asia |
Email this citationCIAO DATE: 06/04
Afghanistan's Flawed Constitutional Process
June 12, 2003
Abstract
Afghanistan is stumbling on its way to a new constitution. The document that must express the values and aspirations of a people may lack widespread legitimacy because it has been drafted in a secretive and unaccountable manner. International efforts to promote public education and consultation have been inadequate. The Transitional Administration (TA) and the UN are now heading down a well-trodden path in Afghan history whereby a constitution is proclaimed but no one, let alone those in control of state power, has any incentive to respect it.
The political process needs to be substantially rethought and recast. More time is required to fashion a truly democratic institution. The plan to convene an unrepresentative Constitutional Loya Jirga in October 2003 should be dropped. Instead, the national elections mandated for 2004 should be used to create a national assembly that can conclude work on and adopt the constitution.
