Afghanistan's Blueprint For Democracy

After days of squabbling and delays, the head of Afghanistan's grand council offered a blueprint Tuesday for the country's legislature, saying it would draw representatives from each province and include others chosen from among delegates assembled at the loya jirga.

The decision, announced by the meeting's chair, Ismail Qasim Yar, is an apparent compromise to ensure that all ethnic groups, especially majority Pashtuns, feel represented in the legislative branch of Afghanistan's transitional government.

The new parliament will also reserve 15 seats for women, Qasim Yar said.

Delegates immediately took to the microphones after his announcement to express their views, with some arguing passionately against the decision. Within minutes, the emotional uproar led Qasim Yar to adjourn the raucous morning session until the afternoon.

"Brothers, let's talk. It should go to a vote. That would be a democracy," said one delegate, Sibghatullah Mojaddidi, who briefly led Afghanistan during a rotating presidency in the 1990s.

The six-month transitional administration, which is drawing to its end this week, has no legislative body.

Also unresolved — and ethnically contentious — is an executive Cabinet. Many Afghans have complained that the interim administration's Cabinet is dominated by ethnic Tajiks from the Panjshir Valley, former members of the northern alliance of opposition groups. Panjshiris now control the country's three most influential ministries — defense, foreign affairs and interior.

Karzai was expected to announce his choices for key Cabinet posts Tuesday morning, but his address to the loya jirga was delayed until later in the afternoon.

Karzai's spokesman, Tayyab Jawad, said the Cabinet posts would be announced, not submitted to the loya jirga for consideration. "Approval is not necessary," he said.

Frustration among the 1,650 delegates has been mounting as days pass without major accomplishments — or, for that matter, much to do. Though some remain outwardly enthusiastic, many have started expressing disgust at a process of government-shaping they complain is bypassing them entirely.

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