The authority of the Chief Executive Officer, a new senior government position established under the terms of the national unity deal made between the presidential candidates at the beginning of August, remains the wedge keeping the two sides from reaching agreement and concluding this year’s election process.
The issue of whether or not the Chief Executive will have power over the Council of Ministers is said to be the primary point of contention between the candidates. It has been debated by join committees appointed by the campaigns, it has also been discussed between the candidates face-to-face and with the international community. Yet, still, no compromise has been made.
“The question is whether the CEO can chair cabinet meetings?” explained Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai’s spokesman Taher Zaheer. "Emphasis was made on the matter earlier, but now both sides believe that the Constitution must not be violated and electing the CEO as the head of the cabinet is in violation of the Constitution.”
Abdullah’s team has maintained that granting the Chief Executive office authorities over the Council of Ministers would not be unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, electoral analysts have stressed on the need for both camps to move forward responsibly, and not do anything to tip the country toward crisis. But for many, however, expediency is vital.
“For Afghanistan’s stability, and in order to prevent the crash of the economy, in order to prevent the increasing hopelessness among people, politicians and candidates must end the deadlock as soon as possible,” said Nader Naderi, the head of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA).
This past week Afghanistan was unable to send a head of state to an important NATO leaders’ summit in Britain where the future of the coalition’s role in the country was discussed. President Hamid Karzai has become estranged from Afghanistan’s western allies, but with the election unfinished, no new president was able to make an appearance at the conference.
The lack of a winner from this year’s election has further delayed the signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) that would allow some foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan post-2014. NATO officials have said financial support for the Afghan security forces would likely be tied to the agreement.
“If these political games continue in Afghanistan and the politicians cannot find a way out, Afghanistan will be left behind the current issues such as the ISIS group and Ukraine,” Afghan political analyst Malek Setiz told TOLOnews.
But already, and much closer to home, the drawn-out election process has already had devastating effects on the national economy, causing divestment and stagnation.
Muhammad Askar is a street food vendor who believes the politicians involved in the election process don’t understand the conditions of everyday Afghans and so they don’t care about the impact of their decisions. “People are lost, and there is no way out. These two must do something to get people out of this situation,” he said.