Draft constitution for post-conflict Afghanistan unveiled

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 04, 2003

Draft constitution for post-conflict Afghanistan unveiled

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The Afghanistan government on Monday unveiled the much-awaited draft of a new constitution, which is expected to lay the foundation for stability and unity in the war-ravaged country nearly two years after the ouster of the Taliban regime.

President Hamid Karzai presented the 65-page document to formerKing Zahir Shah at a brief ceremony at the presidential palace, which was attended by his cabinet members, diplomats and UN special representative to Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi.

The draft constitution "specifically recognizes that Afghanistan is one single and united state which belongs to all its people, and recognizes the importance of national unity, safeguarding independence, national sovereignty and territory integrity of the country," said a press release issued at the ceremony.

Based on Islamic principles, the draft recognizes that no law in Afghanistan could be contrary to the Islam religion, it added.

The release of the constitution draft, earlier expected in lateSeptember or early October, was postponed due to "technical" reasons.

People familiar with the process said that differences between the transitional government and the constitution drafting commission over the national anthem, a stress on enforcement of the Islamic law, formation of government and some other issues hadcaused the delay.

Under the draft, a US-style presidential system, instead of a parliamentary system, would apply in the country which had suffered over 23 years of war and civil conflicts.

The post of a prime minister in the government earlier proposedin the draft constitution had been omitted, sources said.

"A country like Afghanistan needs stability, and I think that would be a consideration by the (constitutional) commission in deciding what form of government should be adopted," said presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin at a press conference followingthe ceremony.

Under the proposed political system, there will be a president and a vice-president directly elected by voters, while the two-house parliament, or National Assembly, holds the right to impeachthe president, he said.

The spokesman called the release of the draft constitution as asignificant step taken by the country towards building a society ruled by law.

President Karzai's transitional government currently rules the country under a revised version of the 1964 constitution under theformer king, who came back to Afghanistan early last year after living in exile for 28 years in Italy.

The new constitution draft emphasizes that any Afghans have rights to establish political parties if their charters do not contradict the Islam principles and constitutional provisions, butsaid such parties should not have military or paramilitary aims and structures.

A political party which has affiliation to foreign sources or is based on ethnicity, language, religion and region would be prohibited under the new constitution.

Civil conflicts among different Afghan ethnic factions in the early 1990s after the withdrawal of the former Soviet Union troopsseverely ruined the country and gave the fundamentalist Taliban movement an advantage for coming to power.

A constitutional Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, in December is expected to discuss and ratify the draft constitution, which will be distributed throughout the country in the coming days.

The new Afghan constitution would stress the importance of Islam in the country, but those harsh interpretations of the Islamlaw which the former ruling Taliban used to rule the country wouldbe evaded, officials said.

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