A number of leaders in Parliament have said they will refuse any decision made unilaterally by President Ashraf Ghani about the extension of their term. Instead, the Administrative Board has announced plans to have lawmakers themselves deliberate over the issue of parliament's term limit and delayed elections on Saturday.
"On Saturday's agenda, we will focus on the issue of parliamentary elections and the extension of parliament's tenure," House of Representatives Secretary Abdul Rauf Enaami said on Friday. "We believe that, based on the law, there is no restriction about extending Parliament term; therefore, the lawmakers will not accept any decision that comes from outside the house."
This week's collision of President Ghani's and Parliament's independent claims to authority over the fate of the current representative term has set up a strange conflict. On the one hand, President Ghani has conducted consultations for over a week in search of a legal basis for extending the parliamentary term until elections can be scheduled. On the other hand, the same representatives the president hopes to keep in office for an extended period of time refuse to recognize his authority in the matter and have announced plans to conduct their own deliberation to reach a consensus about the fate of their term.
According to MPs, the biggest concern about the president determining the fate of the current Parliament is based on the possibility that his executive order might include limitations on the authority of the legislature.
"Any decision that portends some sort of limitations on the authorities of the lawmakers is unacceptable to us," Secretary Enaami said. "It is better to close the doors of a parliament that has no authority," he added.
President Ghani plans to announce his decision on the subject of Parliament's term extension soon, according to deputy spokesman Sayed Zafar Hashemi. But, with Parliament's term officially coming to an end on June 22, it appears legislative leaders hope to beat Ghani to his announcement by arriving at their own consensus decision Saturday.
Meanwhile, among residents of the capital, opinions vary when it comes to Parliament's best path forward.
"It is better to focus on the uncertainties that dominate the Parliament, therefore, both Parliament and the government must work together to settle down the issues facing the country," one Kabul resident named Mohammad Daud said.
Others, more cynically, don't think there would be much of a difference to their lives if Parliament's term is continued or if it expires. "We have not seen anything fruitful from Parliament, so whether it is closed or not it is the same," another resident of the capital named Khaliqdad said.
On Thursday, in a meeting with the heads of the parliamentary commissions, President Ghani reportedly confirmed his intent to extend the term length of the current Parliament.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/3854
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