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Loya Jirga to pick new Afghan government

Mehrdad Balali in Kabul

Political bickering has delayed the start of Afghanistan's grand assembly of tribal elders, or Loya Jirga, which is to pick a government to rule the country until general elections in two years time.

The meet would be held on Tuesday now.

Factional wrangling, confusion and fears of violence have cast a shadow over a gathering the United Nations views as a key stage in the country's transition from 23 years of poverty and conflict to a future of peace and stability.

"Because of last-minute consultations between the Northern Alliance and the former king's group, the Loya Jirga has been delayed," an Afghan official told Reuters.

"Northern Alliance officials are keen to discuss the issue and they have some differences of opinion. And the case is the same with the former king's people," the official said.

The Northern Alliance, which played a key role in defeating the Taliban, wants to keep key posts in the new government and supports interim ruler Hamid Karzai as leader of the new administration.

But some supporters of the former king, Mohammad Zahir Shah, say there will be no stability in the shattered country without Zahir Shah in charge, the official added.

Loya Jirga, which was to meet from June 10-16, will have a gathering of 1,501 delegates.

The grand assembly is expected to fine-tune imperfect power-sharing arrangements agreed late last year in Bonn, while the Taliban still clung to their southern stronghold of Kandahar.

Yet the two-stage Loya Jirga election process, while involving thousands of ordinary Afghans, has not been without its own flaws.

According to complaints lodged with the Loya Jirga Commission, some local militia commanders have used threats or bribery to ensure their representatives are chosen.

Reuters

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