In the Name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful
Political Parties Law
Chapter one
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.
Chapter two
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.
Chapter three
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.
Chapter four
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.
Chapter five
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
Regulations governing the registration of political parties
Chapter One: 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.
Chapter Two: 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.
Chapter Three: 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.
Annex to Regulations Governing the Registration of Political Parties
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