List of political parties in Afghanistan
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This article lists political parties in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has a multi-party system in development with numerous political parties, in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. No political party is permitted to exist that advocates anything that is deemed to go against Islamic morality.
The current law governing the formation of political parties was promulgated in 2009, and requires parties to have at least 10,000 members, (previously they had only needed 700 members).[1] The Afghan Ministry of Justice has registered 84 parties since the new law took effect.[2]
Major parties
Minor parties
- Afghanistan Welfare's Party (Hizb-e-Refah e Afghanistan)
- Democratic Party of Afghanistan
- Haqiqat e Afghan Association (Majma e Haqiqat e Afghan)
- National Congress Party (Hezb-e-Congra-e-Mili Afghanistan)
- National Islamic Front (Hezb-e-Mahaz-e-Mili Islami)
- National Movement of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Nuhzhat-e-Mili Afghanistan)
- National Solidarity Movement (Hezb-e-Nahzat-e-Hambastagee Mili)
- National Sovereignty Party (Hezb-e-Eqtedar-e-Mili)
- National Islamic Unity Party (Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Mili Islami)
- National Solidarity Party (Hezb-e-Paiwand Mili)
- Pashtoons Social Democratic Party (De Pashtano Tolaneez Wolaswaleez Gwand)
- People's Islamist Movement (Harakat-e Islami-yi)
- People's Party of Afghanistan (Hizb-e Mardum-e Afghanistan)
- Progressive Democratic Party of Afghanistan
- Truth and Justice
- Unit Party
- Youth Solidarity Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Hambastagee Mili Jawanan)
- Afghan Liberal Party (Hizbe Azadikhwai Afghanistan)
Former, banned and unrecognized parties
Since the coup in 1973, Afghanistan has had many different political parties. These include Mohammed Daoud Khan's National Revolutionary Party of Afghanistan, the People's Democratic Party and the Democratic Watan Party of Afghanistan from the communist era, and the Northern Alliance that took power after the Fall of Kabul in April 1992, and ran the country until the Taliban's coup in 1996.
English name | Ideology | Notes |
---|---|---|
Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan | Communism, Maoism | Small, underground Maoist party, founded in 2004. Aims to wage a people's war against the American occupation, and turn Afghanistan into a socialist state. |
Democratic Watan Party of Afghanistan | Marxism, Islamic socialism, secularism | Formed by president Najibullah in 1990 in order to get more supporters for his socialist government. Ceased to exist as a formal party after the fall of Najibullah's government in 1992. Most members have fled the country or left the party, and many members were executed by the Taliban regime. Still claims to exist, but is not formally recognized as a party. |
National Revolutionary Party of Afghanistan | Republicanism, Secularism | Party founded by first president Mohammad Daoud Khan. Only legal party under his rule. Ceased to exist after a bloody military coup by the communists in 1978. |
People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan | Communism, secularism, progressivism | Communist party founded in 1965. Gained power in a 1978 coup, and was the dominant party of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1978 to 1990. Replaced by the Democratic Watan Party in 1990. |
Shalleh-ye Javiyd | Communism, Maoism | Banned in 1969 for opposing the Shah regime. |
Taliban | Islamism, Islamic fundamentalism, Pashtun nationalism | Armed group, founded in 1994. Ruled most of the country from 1996 to 2001. Ousted and banned by the US invasion in 2001. Has been at war with the US-backed government in Afghanistan and US-led Coalition forces since. |
References
External links
- د افغانستان متحد ملت ګوند Afghanistan United Nation Party Website
- Licensed political parties (from the Afghanistan Ministry of Justice)
- Leftist parties of Afghanistan
- Crisis Group Asia Briefing N°39, Political Parties in Afghanistan, 5 June 2005
- Afghanistan Analysts Network series on Afghan political parties (begun in 2012)
- Political Parties in Afghanistan United States Institute of Peace