KABUL - Participants at a one-day conference in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, today called for the country’s political parties to improve their image as a whole, as many people do not have full confidence in the parties’ ability to effectively represent them.

“The majority of the Afghan political parties have been established on the basis of linguistic, religious and ethnic lines, which is against the Afghan Constitution and the principles of democracy,” the event’s keynote speaker, Professor Nasrullah Istanikzai of Kabul University, said in his remarks.

Attended by academics, civil society representatives and political activists, the theme of the conference was ‘The role of political parties in democracy.’ The event was organized by the National Centre for Policy Research (NCPR) in order to generate debate on the role of political parties in a democratic environment.

Another speaker, Zia Nekbeen, also an academic at Kabul University, said that poverty, illiteracy, weak rule of law and the country’s tribal system posed major obstacles to the development of “proper” political parties in Afghanistan.

“The political parties should play a significant role in the elections so that the leverage that any individuals have over the election process can be diminished,” Mr. Nekbeen said.

Afghanistan is due to hold a presidential election on 5 April next year, marking an end to the second term of the incumbent, President Hamid Karzai. The political transition coincides with a security transition currently underway, which is seeing the Afghan authorities take over responsibilities previously assumed by international allies.

Some participants, representing political parties, called for a change into the electoral system from a Single Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV) system to that of Proportional Representation (PR), or a mix of both, in order to help pave the way for an effective system for political parties to operate in.

Under the PR system, the number of seats won by a political party is proportionate to the number of votes received. The SNTV election system – sometimes described as the first-past-the-post majority system – is used in ‘multi-member constituencies,’ in which each constituency has more than one seat allocated in the parliament. Voters have, however, only one vote and can only choose a single candidate on the ballot in their constituency. The candidates with the highest number of valid votes win the seats allocated to their constituency.

Supporters of the SNTV system argue that the system provides an advantage for independent candidates, as it does not allow names to be grouped on party lists. They also assert that the system dissolves powerful political entities and their power bases, which assists in the transition to peace in post-conflict areas. Critics claim the SNTV system discourages participation of political parties and tends to generate a large number of candidates.

“Political parties cannot progress unless government does not change the current system of SNTV in the country,” a civil society activist, Naeem Nazari, told the conference.

Mr. Nazari also said that strong political parties in a democratic system help provide legitimacy to the government, enable better strategies and programmes for the country’s development, and create a system of monitoring over the activities of government.

The conference’s participants were unanimous in calling for the Afghan Government to support political parties and provide an environment in which they can flourish.