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No Option But National Unity Government: Spanta
22 Jul, 2014
Written By Shakeela Ahbrimkhail
Afghan National Security Advisor Dr. Rangeen Dadfar Spanta on Tuesday warned of potential danger in relying too much on the election commissions or allowing one of the political teams to be excluded from the structure of the next government.
Spanta, one of Afghanistan’s top security officials, stressed that the transcript of the political settlement made between Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Abdullah Abdullah remains in the U.S. Embassy, and that a legal agreement needs to be established to bolster its terms.
“National unity government doesn’t mean that someone is selected by the existing institutions and later on does whatever he wants, it means that two major political process emerged today whether we like them or not,” Spanta said. “These two political forces must sit on the basis of their national responsibilities and form the national unity government, but by bringing reforms.”
Spanta's comments came at a policy discussion organized in Kabul on Tuesday by the Afghanistan Center of Strategic Studies regarding the formation of the national unity government. He highlighted the public’s mistrust of the election commissions and emphasized the importance of seeing through the agreement made between the candidates, and solidifying it in legal form.
“For further expansion of partnership, before getting the certification of the election commission, I think it would be good if the candidates reach an agreement, and a copy of the agreement regarding the framework of such an agreement exists in the U.S. embassy,” Spanta added.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Kabul last week in order to meet with the candidates and negotiate an end to the stalemate between them that had driven the country to the edge of crisis. The terms they negotiated included the comprehensive auditing of election results and formation of a national unity government following the release of the results.
On Tuesday, Spanta emphasized the importance of honoring the agreement to structure an inclusive national unity government. He cautioned that any attempt to push one of the electoral camps from the national unity government would have damaging consequences. Spanta said that he respects the existing Afghan Constitution, but supports the amendments that have been proposed to create a Prime Minister position.
“Any approach for increasing a particular ethnicity or decreasing another or any attempt for pushing out one of the groups from the structure of the national unity government would be dangerous and would not help the country out of stalemate,” Spanta said.
A number of legal experts have, over the past week, weighed in on the agreement between the candidates and highlighted the importance of legal frameworks in resolving the election disputes.
“Political negotiations yield positive outcomes at a time that there is a legal framework,” said Mohammad Amin Ahmadi, a member of the commission overseeing implementation of the constitution.
Meanwhile, Spanta spoke briefly about his possible role in the future government. “The political community should remember that we are a part of the power and we will be in the opposition or part of the partnership in the future.”
22 Jul, 2014
Written By Shakeela Ahbrimkhail
Afghan National Security Advisor Dr. Rangeen Dadfar Spanta on Tuesday warned of potential danger in relying too much on the election commissions or allowing one of the political teams to be excluded from the structure of the next government.
Spanta, one of Afghanistan’s top security officials, stressed that the transcript of the political settlement made between Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Abdullah Abdullah remains in the U.S. Embassy, and that a legal agreement needs to be established to bolster its terms.
“National unity government doesn’t mean that someone is selected by the existing institutions and later on does whatever he wants, it means that two major political process emerged today whether we like them or not,” Spanta said. “These two political forces must sit on the basis of their national responsibilities and form the national unity government, but by bringing reforms.”
Spanta's comments came at a policy discussion organized in Kabul on Tuesday by the Afghanistan Center of Strategic Studies regarding the formation of the national unity government. He highlighted the public’s mistrust of the election commissions and emphasized the importance of seeing through the agreement made between the candidates, and solidifying it in legal form.
“For further expansion of partnership, before getting the certification of the election commission, I think it would be good if the candidates reach an agreement, and a copy of the agreement regarding the framework of such an agreement exists in the U.S. embassy,” Spanta added.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Kabul last week in order to meet with the candidates and negotiate an end to the stalemate between them that had driven the country to the edge of crisis. The terms they negotiated included the comprehensive auditing of election results and formation of a national unity government following the release of the results.
On Tuesday, Spanta emphasized the importance of honoring the agreement to structure an inclusive national unity government. He cautioned that any attempt to push one of the electoral camps from the national unity government would have damaging consequences. Spanta said that he respects the existing Afghan Constitution, but supports the amendments that have been proposed to create a Prime Minister position.
“Any approach for increasing a particular ethnicity or decreasing another or any attempt for pushing out one of the groups from the structure of the national unity government would be dangerous and would not help the country out of stalemate,” Spanta said.
A number of legal experts have, over the past week, weighed in on the agreement between the candidates and highlighted the importance of legal frameworks in resolving the election disputes.
“Political negotiations yield positive outcomes at a time that there is a legal framework,” said Mohammad Amin Ahmadi, a member of the commission overseeing implementation of the constitution.
Meanwhile, Spanta spoke briefly about his possible role in the future government. “The political community should remember that we are a part of the power and we will be in the opposition or part of the partnership in the future.”
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