The Taliban convene a loya jirga to save Afghanistan
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that Kabul intends to convene a loya jirga (All-Afghan assembly of elders). He stressed that the relevant decision was made after meetings in China aimed at resolving the situation in Afghanistan.
Earlier, former President Hamid Karzai, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West, as well as representatives of the European Union and Iran called for an all-Afghan meeting. It is believed that only in this way can the process of forming an inclusive government of Afghanistan be accelerated.
But Mujahid made an important clarification: the government does not know what to call this event, which they refer to only as the "gathering of Afghans" and has not yet decided on the timing of its holding.
Recall that the first known loya jirga was convened on the territory of modern Afghanistan in 1411. In 1747, it elected King Ahmad Shah of the Durrani Pashtun tribe, Emir of Khorasan, in Kandahar, which marked the beginning of modern Afghanistan.
Since then, historically, the loya jirga has always been called to declare war, elect a new monarch, implement social and political reforms, and approve a new constitution. And today, according to the formally valid Constitution of Afghanistan of 2004, the loya jirga is the highest expression of the will of the people of the country, members of the National Assembly (bicameral parliament), chairmen of provincial and county councils, government ministers and members of the Supreme Court can participate in it.
That is, on a formal basis, this forum can form and approve a new government of Afghanistan. However, the Taliban has previously considered the loya jirga to be a "historical anachronism", stating that "it is outdated and unable to solve today's problems." Then what's in its place?
At one time, the Taliban promised to hold a general election and form a "modern parliament”. But in the current domestic political situation in the country, it is not possible to hold such an election. This is the first point.
The second point: over the past two decades the country experienced four presidential elections in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019, and three rounds of parliamentary elections, which were held in 2005, 2010 and 2018. During each of these electoral cycles, the losing candidates refused to recognise the results and accused the election commissions of bias and fraud in the counting of votes.
At the same time, the emergence of electoral crises in Afghanistan often brought the country to the brink of another war. But even if a traditional loya jirga is convened now, it is far from certain that the Taliban will be able to form the government they need and retain power.
There are about 100 active political parties in Afghanistan, the vast majority of which play no role in the socio-political equation due to political and inter-ethnic fragmentation. These are not European-type parties. Afghan politicians enter the political arena only as individual players, playing a game based on personal and family interests.
Based on this, the international community's calls for Kabul to "form an inclusive ethno-political government" can only be implemented from above, by the decision of the Taliban leadership. But is it ready for this?
Elena Panina, Director of the RUSSTRAT Institute