While the electoral reforms commission is working on proposed reforms to Afghanistan’s electoral system, there are deep disbeliefs whether the government is really committed to a genuine reform to the country’s electoral system. In a gathering on Afghanistan’s electoral reforms, members of Jamiat-e Islami party voiced concerns over the reform process and its possible final outcome. The party alleged that the government does not have political will to bring real reforms to Afghanistan’s electors system. Jamiat Islami party called on the electoral reforms commission to do the task independently and revive the confidence of the people of Afghanistan by bringing fundamental reforms to the electoral system. The remarks by Jamiat Islami officials echo previous calls from the election monitoring organizations and various political trends in the country. It shows there are widespread concerns regarding the role of the electoral reforms commission and the reform process itself.

The remarks stated by Jamiat Islami officials are shared by broad political and civil society spectrums. Despite the fact that the electoral reforms commission is established, the prospect for reforming the electoral system is uncertain as the leaders of the national unity government do not seem to be fully committed to bringing substantial reforms to the country’s electoral system and procedures. The formation of the reforms commission took months while the government’s senior leaders disagreed on the reform agenda and the leadership of the reforms commission. However, the commission finally was established with reduced power and authority which was unexpected given the task that is expected from the electoral reforms commission. Many now consider the reforms commission as merely a consultative body authorized to only propose reforms to the government. The fact that the reforms commission would have no weighty say in the reforms process indicates that the commission would not be able to bring substantial changes to the electoral system.

However, the members of the electoral reforms commission maintain that its role in the reforms process is not symbolic, and that it will propose remarkable electoral reforms to the electoral system. But the widespread skepticism regarding the role and authority of the reforms commission remains in place. On the other hand, there are still visible disagreements among the leaders of the political trends and stakeholders of the government over the nature and scope of reforms to Afghanistan’s electoral system and electoral bodies. There is no consensus among key stakeholders of the Afghan politics and the leaders of the national unity government on a reform agenda for the process. The past differences among the leaders of the national unity government and apparent resistance of some powerful political figures and government leaders to genuine electoral reforms suggests a grim prospect for the electoral reforms. In other words, even the reforms commission manages to bring about remarkable reforms and propose them to the government, there are serious doubts whether the government would implement the proposed reforms.

Also, the members of the electoral reforms commission belong to the major camps that formed the national unity government. This makes the electoral reforms commission particularly vulnerable to working based on politics rather than expert consideration of electoral matters. Many analysts and experts believe while the nature of the task of the electoral reforms commission is highly legal and technical, the make-up of the commission is merely based on political calculations and the members represent major political camps. Such a composition would leave no space for the reforms commission to do the technical task professionally and bring real changes to the electoral system of Afghanistan. Representation of major political camps in the reforms commission would turn the commission into a scene of power struggle for the major political trends aimed at influencing the process and manipulating the final outcome of the reforms process.

The challenges ahead of Afghanistan’s political development and the state-building process are abundant. The future state-building processes and the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections would depend on the fate of the current reforms to the country’s electoral system. If Afghan political elites manage to create a sound and fair electoral system, the country would avoid another catastrophic fraudulent election. The apparent lack of a political will in the highest level of administration is the biggest challenge against the reforms process. If the leaders of the national unity government provide unanimous political support to the electoral reforms process, the process could sustain other challenges and impediments that exist in the process. However, if the government fails to provide the required political support to the electoral reforms, there would be no real change and the process would turn into a mere political gameplays.  Another challenge for the reforms process is compromising demands and political ambitions of various political groups in the final outcome of the electoral reforms. A reformed electoral system in Afghanistan should serve interests of all political forces and the country’s ethnic and religious groups. Commitment of the government leaders and the rest of Afghanistan’s political leaders to the rules of the game would lead to a real achievement for all parties that would serve interests of all stakeholders of Afghanistan’s politics. A flawed reforms process with no substantial changes to the country’s electoral system would set the state for further political crises as the forthcoming elections unfold. In this regard, major part of responsibility for a sound fair electoral system lies on shoulders of the leaders of the national unity government and the members of the electoral reforms commission. These two parties need to be accountable to how they lead the reforms process.

The fate of the upcoming parliamentary elections in particular and the fate of Afghanistan’s political development in general are directly related to the work of the electoral reforms commission and the leadership of the process by national unity the government. The outcome of the reforms process would be the legacy of President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah. The two leaders should be conscious to what legacy they would leave behind.