Democracy is a universal value based on the freely expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full participation in all aspects of their lives.
In a democracy, human rights are promoted and protected so that everyone irrespective of his race, gender, personal belief or style of life, can participate in formulating the laws and policies to which we are subject. These human rights include the right to express ourselves freely, to associate freely with others, and to choose our representatives in free and fair elections. In this system all citizens are respected as equals, women have as important role to play as men.
After Taliban’s regime was toppled, Afghanistan was put on the way to democracy – the established and widely practiced system of government. The underlined fault remains with delayed understanding of preferential type be applied, having understood the elongated concerns and grievances of people in general and ruling elite in particular. The centralized government brought forth is perceived as continuation of denied political participation by many stake holder.
However the installment of democracy devoid of its fundamental requisites left the people suffer at the hand of nonconforming elements, insurgents and terrorists who today seems to have grown mightier than previous. The completion of two democratic terms and slight betterment in women rights and a small degree of freedom, of course, count the successes of the democratic government.
Hence Afghan population currently has few means of expressing dissent regarding policies carried out by the international community and the central government, which operates on a highly centralized patronage model in which power and resources are channeled through personal and political allies. The system lacks the connection, rules, and checks and balances necessary to make leaders truly accountable to the domestic population, which invites corruption, rent-seeking, and a hemorrhaging of domestic legitimacy. Local governmental bodies are the appropriate places for representing Afghans and responding to their needs, but these currently suffer from a lack of capacity, confusion over their roles and authorities, and little legitimacy.
Free and impartial election is the foundation stone of fostering democracy to boost the confidence of individuals and communities in the system of peaceful transfer of power, rule of law, power sharing, respect for the collective will of people and dialogue and negotiations as the only means to resolve conflicts and lingering national issues.
Every year we look back on yet another year of remarkable events in the story of democracy, a story that continues to be written by people who yearn for dignity and human rights, for an end to corruption, for glorious future, for jobs, justice and a fair share of political power and stability, the people of Afghanistan waiting for ages.