KABUL (SW) – John Bass, the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, has expressed disappointment over the Wolesi Jirga (lower house) members embroiled in lingering dispute over election of the speaker.
In conversation with journalists, Ambassador Bass said on Thursday that the failure to resolve the ongoing dispute over the election of the speaker indicates that a number of MPs are putting very narrow and self- interests ahead of the national interest. “At a time when the Afghan security forces are bravely defending the Afghan people, and their families are facing the trauma of loss and the fear that comes with it, what message does it send to all of them”, he said.
The U.S. Ambassador criticized the MPs for fighting among them instead of unifying to mobilize additional support for the Afghan security forces. “So, we call on the elected members of the parliament to fulfill the responsibilities of office for which they are elected”, he said.
A day earlier, the lingering differences over election of the speaker turned violent at the house with MPs throwing chairs around.
These differences erupted when Mir Rehman Rehmani and Kamal Nasir Osoli made it to the second round of voting for the speakership over a month ago. The interim chairman of the house, Atta Mohammad Dehqanpur named Rehmani as the winner, but a number of protesting MPs claimed Rehmani has failed to secure the minimum legal requirement of 50 per cent plus 1 vote.
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