Survey of Afghanistan Parliament: Key Findings

Author

Democracy International

Published

June 30, 2012

Location

Afghanistan

From April to June 2012 Democracy International conducted the first-ever survey of sitting members of Afghanistan’s Parliament focused on legislators’ attitudes on issues related to elections, electoral laws and governance in Afghanistan. DI’s research team conducted interviews with 176 members of parliament (MPs). In total, the team surveyed 121 MPs (48.6%) from the Wolesi Jirga (the lower house) and 55 MPs (54%) from the Meshrano Jirga (the upper house), representing just over 50% of National Assembly members. The findings reveal that members of Afghanistan’s National Assembly largely agree that electoral reform is necessary to strengthen the country’s electoral system and improve the legitimacy of future electoral outcomes in Afghanistan. They also illustrate that, given the opportunity to legislate on electoral matters, the National Assembly would likely take action to change the country’s electoral laws to make significant modifications to Afghanistan’s electoral system, including introducing safeguards for the appointment of electoral commissioners, and to confirm the necessity of ensuring women’s representation in parliament.

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