Political parties are banned in Afghanistan under the current Taliban government. Previously, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan had a multi-party system in development with numerous political parties, in which no one party often had a chance of gaining power alone, and parties had to work with each other to form coalition governments. No political party was permitted to exist that advocated anything deemed to go against Islamic morality.
The Taliban movement took over the government by force in 2021, and has since ruled the country unopposed. In September 2022, Acting Deputy Minister of Justice Maulvi Abdul Karim stated that there is "no need" for political parties to be active.[1] On 16 August 2023, the Taliban government formally banned all political parties in Afghanistan in a decree announced by Acting Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Haqqani, because according to them, there is no concept of political party in the Sharia and the political parties do not serve Afghanistan's interests.[2]
Major parties under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
editAll parties are now banned; the following is a list of major parties during the rule of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The law governing the formation of political parties was promulgated in 2009, and required parties to have at least 10,000 members, (previously they had only needed 700 members).[3]
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Minor parties under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
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Former parties
editThe following is a list of historical parties disestablished prior to the founding of the Islamic Republic. Since the coup in 1973, Afghanistan has had many different political parties. These include Mohammed Daoud Khan's National Revolutionary Party of Afghanistan, the People's Democratic Party and the Democratic Watan Party of Afghanistan from the communist era, and the Northern Alliance that took power after the Fall of Kabul in April 1992, and ran the country until the Taliban's coup in 1996.
| English name | Ideology | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Revolutionary Party of Afghanistan | Republicanism, Secularism |
Party founded by first president Mohammad Daoud Khan. Only legal party under his rule. Ceased to exist after a bloody military coup by the communists in 1978. | |
| People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan | Communism, Marxist-Leninism, Secularism, Left-wing nationalism |
Communist party founded in 1965. Gained power in a 1978 coup, and was the dominant party of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1978 to 1990. Replaced by the Democratic Watan Party in 1990. | |
| People's Solidarity Movement of Afghanistan (Feda'ian) | Socialism | ||
| Shola-e Javid | Communism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism, Anti-revisionism |
Banned in 1969 for opposing the Shah regime. |
References
edit- ^ Ziaei, Hadia (4 September 2022). "Officials: Afghanistan Does Not Need a Constitution". TOLOnews. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ Gul, Ayaz (16 August 2023). "Taliban Ban Afghan Political Parties, Citing Sharia Violations". Voice of America. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Political Parties in Afghanistan," British Embassy in Kabul website (accessed 14 December 2012)
- ^ a b "Refworld | A House Divided? Analysing the 2005 Afghan Elections".
External links
edit- د افغانستان متحد ملت ګوند Afghanistan United Nation Party Website
- Licensed political parties (from the Afghanistan Ministry of Justice)
- Leftist parties of Afghanistan
- Crisis Group Asia Briefing N°39, Political Parties in Afghanistan, 5 June 2005
- Afghanistan Analysts Network series on Afghan political parties (begun in 2012)
- Political Parties in Afghanistan United States Institute of Peace