In the Name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful
General Provisions
Article 1
This law is adopted pursuant to article 32 of the 1964 Constitution on the establishment, functions, rights, obligations and dissolution of political parties in Afghanistan.
Article 2
In this law, "political party" means an organized society consisting of individuals which undertakes activities for attaining its political objectives, locally and/or nationwide, based on the provisions of this law and its own constitution;
Article 3
The political system of the State of Afghanistan is based on the principles of democracy and pluralism of political parties.
Establishment and registration of political parties
Article 4
Afghan citizens of voting age can freely establish a political party, irrespective of their ethnicity, race, language, tribe, sex, religion, education, occupation, lineage, assets and place of residence.
Article 5
Political parties can function freely on the basis of the provisions of this law, and have equal rights and obligations before the law.
Article 6
Political parties shall not:
(1) pursue objectives that are opposed to
the principles of the holy religion Islam;
(2) use force, or threaten with, or propagate, the use of force;
(3) incite to ethnic racial, religious or sectional violence;
(4) create a real danger to the rights and freedom of individuals or
intentionally disrupt public order and security
(5) have military organisations or affiliations with armed forces
(6) receive funds from foreign sources.
Article 7
The headquarters and any regional offices of a political party shall be located in Afghanistan. The government shall ensure the security and safety of the political party's offices.
Article 8
(1) All political parties shall be
registered with the Ministry of Justice.
(2) The procedure for registering shall be regulated by separate
regulation.
Article 9
The Ministry of Justice shall refuse the registration of political parties which:
(a) do not fulfill the requirement of
Article 6
(b) have fewer than 700 members at the time of registration
(c) wish to register under the name of a political party that has
already been registered.
Article 10
If the Ministry of Justice rejects an application of a political party, the applicant shall have the right to appeal to the relevant court
Article 11
A political party may officially start its activities after being registered by the Ministry of Justice.
Article 12
A registered political party shall enjoy the following rights:
(a) Independent political activity;
(d) Permanent or temporary political alliance or coalition with other
political parties;
(e) Open and free expression of opinions, both in writing and verbally,
on political, social, economical and cultural issues, and peaceful
assembly;
(f) Establishing an independent publication organ;
(g) Access to the media at the expense of the political party;
(h) Introducing candidates at all elections;
(i) Other rights in accordance with the aims and duties of a political
party as indicated in its constitution.
Article 13
(1) Afghan citizens who have completed
the age of 18 and have the right to vote can acquire membership of a
political party.
(2) A person shall not be member of more than one political party at a
time.
(3) Judges, prosecutors, leading cadres of the armed forces, officers,
non-commissioned officers, other military personnel, police officers,
and personnel of national security, shall not be members of a political
party during their tenure of office.
Financial matters
Article 14
The funds and expenses of political parties shall be public and transparent.
Article 15
(1) Political parties may receive income from the following sources:
(a) Membership contributions
(b) Donations by legal persons up to two million Afghani per year
(c) Income from a party's movable and immovable property
(d) Subsidies by the government in connection with elections
(e) Other contributions by members
(2) Political parties shall register all its income and deposit it in a bank account.
Article 16
(1) The leadership of the political party
shall bear financial responsibility during its tenure.
(2) In order to carry out its financial affairs, the leadership of the
political party shall appoint one or more authorized representatives
and introduce their signatures to the relevant bank.
(3) The movable and immovable property of political parties shall be
registered in the office of the party and in the Ministry of Finance
through legalized documents.
Dissolution of a political party
Article 17
The dissolution of a political party shall not be ordered unless:
(1) the party uses force, or threatens
with the use of force or uses force to overthrow the legal order of the
country, or the party has a military organisation or affiliations with
armed forces,
(2) the measures mentioned in sub-item 1 of this Article are not
effective,
(3) the party acts against the articles of the Constitution or this law.
Article 18
The Supreme Court shall, upon the request of the Minister of Justice, dissolve a political party according to the articles of this law.
Article 19
The Supreme Court shall consider a request for dissolution of the political party as a priority matter and in the shortest possible time. The hearings of the Supreme Court shall be open to the public.
Article 20
The leader or the authorized representative of the political party shall have the right to request the Council of the Supreme Court to replace the presiding officer or one or more of the judges. If the Council of the Supreme Court considers the request justified, it shall appoint another presiding officer or judge from the members of the Supreme Court.
Article 21
The leader or authorized representative of the political party shall have the right to be heard and to participate in the hearings of the Supreme Court.
Article 22
The Supreme Court shall fully state its reasons when ordering the dissolution of a political party. The order by the court for the dissolution of the political party shall be definite and final, and shall be published by mass media.
Final provisions
Article 23
All political parties and political organisations shall register in accordance with the provisions of this law. Political parties shall not enjoy the rights in this law unless they are registered.
Article 24
Financial and commercial governmental organs, and the responsible officials heading those organs, shall not use their position to favour or to disadvantage any political party.
Article 25
This law shall be in effect from the date
it is published in the Official Gazette. This law shall abolish the
political parties' law published in the Official Gazette No. (733),
dated 29/10/1369.
In the Name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful
General Provisions
Article 1
These Regulations are issued in accordance with Article 8(2) of the Law on Political Parties, and shall govern the process for registering political parties.
Article 2
The Ministry of Justice shall establish a registration office for matters relating to the registration of political parties and for the review of applications and manifestos/programmes of actions of political parties.
Evaluation of requests and phases of registration
Article 3
Applications for registration of a political party shall be submitted by the founder of the political party or by the person so authorized by the political party to the Ministry of Justice. The request for the establishment of a political party will be evaluated, along with its constitution and programme, by the relevant department.
Article 4
(1) Applications for registration shall include the following information and documentation:
(a) the name of the party and its main
address
(b) the name(s) of the applicant(s)
(c) the sources of funding
(d) the party's symbol, slogan, and other means identifying the party;
(e) the platform or programme of action of the party
(f) proof of membership
in accordance with the form attached to these regulations
(2) The Ministry shall, within one month, decide to accept or reject
the consideration of the application. If the application does not
contain the information in paragraph 1 above, or if it does not meet
the requirement of Article 6 of the Law on Political Parties, the
registration office shall return the application to the applicant for
correction.
(3) The registration office shall issue
receipts to the applicants for applications received.
(4) If the Ministry of Justice rejects the consideration of an
application, the applicant has the right appeal to the relevant court.
The decision of the relevant court shall be decisive and final.
Article 5
(1) The Ministry shall decide on each application within two months of receipt of a complete application.
(2) When the Ministry accepts the application, it shall register the party and notify the applicant(s) of its decision in writing within two days.
Article 6
(1) Political parties shall within 10 days report to the Ministry of Justice any change to the platform/manifesto of the political party, including a copy of the decision of the assembly or other authorized organ of the party.
(2) The registration office shall register the amendment in paragraph 1 in the relevant records.
Final Provisions
Article 7
The Ministry shall remove the name of a political party (1) if the political party has ceased to exist on the basis of a decision of its congress or assembly or (2) if the political party has been dissolved or prohibited pursuant to a decision of the Supreme Court, in accordance with article 32 of the Constitution and article 22 of the Law on Political Parties.
Article 8
The Ministry of Justice shall publish the decision to register a political party through mass media at the expense of the political party.
Article 9
The Ministry shall publish the names of all registered political parties 7 days before the elections.
Article 10
These Regulations shall enter into force upon the date of publication in the Official Gazette. Former regulations No. 747 dated 31/5/1370 regarding the registration and dissolution of the political parties is hereby abolished.
Sample membership application form
Name: ____________________
Name of father: ____________________
Age: ____________________
Permanent address: ____________________
Current address: ____________________
I hereby state my wish to become member of [name of political party]
and accept all rights and obligations that membership of this party
entails. I endorse the constitution and objectives of [name of
political party] and confirm that I am not a member of any other
political party.
__________________________
Signature of applicant
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For the political party
The person above is an Afghan citizen of voting age and meets all requirements for membership of the party.
_______________________________
Signature of authorized party official
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