Kabul, Oct 15: The first election of Loya Jirga (traditional Afghan assembly) members to approve the new Afghan Constitution will start today in the northeast of the country due to an early onset of winter in the region, a UN spokesman said. "Representatives of the districts of Badakhshan province will elect their own representative to Loya Jirga," said the spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA), Manuel de Almeida e Silva.
Elections for the constitutional Loya Jirga are to be finished before the coming of winter in northern Badakhshan province, 320 km northeast of the capital Kabul. "Election in the rest of the country will start between end of November and the beginning of December," he added. Loya Jirga is to adopt the new Afghan Constitution in December.
The text of the new Constitution will be released in the next few days. Loya Jirga will be composed of 500 members. Among these 450 will be elected by the representatives of the population and 50 will be selected by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Out of 450, which are supposed to be elected, 344 will be elected by the 15,000 district representatives throughout the country.
Refugees, internal displaced people (IDP) and minorities (Hindus and Sikhs) will elect 42 members and 64 women members will be elected by female communities in Afghanistan's provinces. Bureau Report