The Research Institute for Women, Peace and Security (RIWSP) on Tuesday issued its fourth annual report on the performance of the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) and said that last year parliament performed better with legislation, but its oversight on the performance of government remained weak and that lawmakers failed to ensure true representation of their clients.
According to the report, lawmakers in parliament sometimes considered their ethnic background when dealing with impeachments and summoning sessions.
The report states that the lawmakers continued to grapple with problems while setting up their internal rule procedures and absence of the lawmakers from parliamentary sessions also undermined access of their clients to their representatives.
“Holding meetings without reaching a consensus, leaving meetings before concluding the meetings, underestimating the house procedure, involvement of the lawmakers in their personal business, and leaving the meetings without getting an answer to the question asked during the summoning sessions are the main issues,” the report stated.
“There are shortcomings and deficiencies, we need the topics debated to be implemented and executed including the implementation of the approvals and the laws,” said MP Dawoud Kalakani.
The report illustrates that the lawmakers also had insufficient understanding about impeachment procedures and in some cases they failed to hear what officials were trying to tell them during the question and answer sessions.
"At a time when the issue of monitoring was raised, there is a kind of sensitivity inside the parliament on why parliament’s action should be monitored. Even some of our commissions were not prepared to let the civil society groups oversee their work,” said MP Fawzia Kofi.
"An effective parliament ensures the holding of transparent elections and transparent elections can guarantee the establishment of a working and effective parliament,” said Abdul Rahim Ayoubizada, head of Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA).