Afghanistan faces shortage of women in new parliament

KABUL, Sunday (AFP)

Afghanistan faces the prospect of not having enough women to fill parliamentary seats reserved for them in the war-torn country's first post-Taliban legislative elections due to a lack of candidates, officials said Sunday.

"Countrywide, we are short of 18 female candidates for provincial councils," Afghanistan Electoral Commission chairman Bismillah Bismil said less than two days before registration closes for most candidates.

"We hope that in the one and a half remaining days this problem will be solved," he told reporters in Kabul.

"In Afghanistan there must be 68 female representatives (for provincial councils). We hope this problem is solved. If it is not solved these seats will remain vacant," he added.

In the country's latest shaky step towards democracy, 298 women have registered to run for the lower house known as the Wolesi Jirga, more than enough to fill the 68 seats reserved for them.

However, for the provincial council elections, to be held simultaneously on September 18, 172 women have registered so far mostly in the country's more liberal cities and northern provinces.

There are 124 seats reserved for women on provincial councils but not enough candidates to fill seats in 11 provinces mostly in the conservative ethnically Pashtun south and east of the country, with not a single woman running for election for the council in the eastern province of Kunar.

Provincial councils will nominate members of the upper house or Meshrano Jirga which rule on legislation.

Candidate nominations close on Monday in 33 of Afghanistan provinces, although the deadline has been extended to Thursday in the eastern province of Nangahar where four women have so far stood for the five seats reserved for women on the province's council.

Nangahar was the scene of violent anti-US protests earlier this month following an erroneous news report that US military investigators had desecrated a copy of the Koran.

Altogether 5,275 Afghans including 470 women have registered as candidates for the country's first post-Taliban parliamentary and provincial council elections.

President Hamid Karzai Saturday urged women to stand for provincial elections saying, "I want to strongly encourage our sisters, the women of Afghanistan to stand for the provincial and district councils."

"This is very very important for the future of Afghanistan and for the development and advancement of Afghanistan," he added.

Bismil echoed Karzai's appeal and repeated calls for candidates and voters to take part in the polls, the latest step in the war-shattered country's march towards democracy.

Taliban militants have threatened to sabotage the vote. The ousted hardline Islamic militia made similar threats which proved hollow during last October's presidential vote won by Karzai.