Adult supervision needed

The New York Times reports that President Karzai has agreed to convene Parliament Wednesday, after making a genuine mess of things by trying to get changes made in the results of last September’s elections.  Somehow I have a feeling we have not heard the last of this story, but even thus far it tells us something about Afghanistan.

The President had good reason to be unhappy with the outcome of the September parliamentary elections:  due to insecurity in the parts of the country where they live, Pashtuns are underrepresented, especially in Ghazni province, and some of his favorites did not get in.  The last parliament had become increasingly aggressive in questioning ministers, claiming it had ultimate responsibility for constitutional interpretation, and in general exercising some oversight of the executive branch.  This is not fun for any president, especially one who lacks a strong power base of his own and is fighting a counter-insurgency war with allies he regards as fickle while he tries to negotiate a political settlement with the enemy.  A little support in parliament would be nice.

What Karzai tried to do was use a panel of judges he appointed expressly for the purpose to outflank the internationally supported electoral commissions that were supposed to have final say on the election results.  Normally I might cheer a president who is feisty enough to tell the internationals where to go, but that would not have been the appropriate reaction in this instance.  It is hard always to credit the rule of law arguments (“integrity of the electoral process” and all that) my colleagues make, but every once in a while something is so blatantly abusive that we should, if only because the Afghans who did vote are entitled to the parliament they voted for.

So what does this story tell us about Afghanistan?  It tells us that the international intervention there needs to maintain its vigilance and act when necessary to counterbalance abuses.

But it also tells us that the Afghans have their own balancing mechanisms–President Karzai apparently backed down after a very long lunch with the people elected to the new parliament, who had been threatening to open their session without him.  Maybe, just maybe, the adult supervision that is needed can come in the future a bit more from Afghans than from the foreigners.

We’ve got our own politicians to keep on the straight and narrow.  As well as an ex-spy and his friends to rein in.