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List of political parties in Afghanistan

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Political parties are banned in Afghanistan under the current Taliban government. Previously, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan had a multi-party system in development with numerous political parties, in which no one party often had a chance of gaining power alone, and parties had to work with each other to form coalition governments. No political party was permitted to exist that advocated anything deemed to go against Islamic morality.

The Taliban movement took over the government by force in 2021, and has since ruled the country unopposed. In September 2022, Acting Deputy Minister of Justice Maulvi Abdul Karim stated that there is "no need" for political parties to be active.[1] On 16 August 2023, the Taliban government formally banned all political parties in Afghanistan in a decree announced by Acting Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Haqqani, because according to them, there is no concept of political party in the Sharia and the political parties do not serve Afghanistan's interests.[2]

Major parties under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

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All parties are now banned; the following is a list of major parties during the rule of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The law governing the formation of political parties was promulgated in 2009, and required parties to have at least 10,000 members, (previously they had only needed 700 members).[3]

English name Ideology[4] Logo
Watan Party of Afghanistan Social Democracy
Secularism
Gender Equality
National Enlightenment Consensus Party of Afghanistan Socialism
Secularism
Gender Equality
National United Party of Afghanistan Socialism
Secularism
Gender Equality
Solidarity Party of Afghanistan Socialist Feminism
Secularism
Democratic Socialism
Afghan Peace Movement Socialism
Secularism
Islamic Party
(Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin and Hezb-i Islami Khalis)
Islamism
Republican Party of Afghanistan Republicanism
Islamic Society Islamism

Republicanism Communitarianism

Islamic Movement of Afghanistan Islamism

Religious Fundamentalism

Afghan Social Democratic Party (Afghan Mellat) Social democracy
Pashtun Nationalism
Anti-Communism
Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan Traditionalism
Islamism
Hazara Minority Rights
Shia Islamism
Islamic Dawah Organisation of Afghanistan Islamism
Conservatism
Pashtun and Tajik Interests
Link to file
National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan Secularism
Uzbek and Turkmen Interests
Link to file
National Rescue Front (Afghanistan) Traditionalism
Islamism
Afghan Liberal Party Secularism
Moderation Party of Afghanistan Afghan nationalism, Democracy
Afghanistan Liberation Organization Communism
Marxism–Leninism
Maoism
Anti-revisionism
Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan Communism,
Marxism–Leninism–Maoism
Democratic Watan Party of Afghanistan Neomarxism,
Socialism,
Islamic socialism,
Secularism
Democratic socialism
Progressivism

Minor parties under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

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English name Ideology[4] Logo Status
Welfare Party of Afghanistan (Hizb-e-Refah e Afghanistan) Welfarism
National Movement (Basej-e Milli) Afghan nationalism

Atlanticism

Moderate Islamism

Democratism

Decentralization

Reformism

Republicanism

Anti-Taliban

Link to file
Democratic Party of Afghanistan
Afghanistan Coherence and Mutation Party (Majma e Haqiqat e Afghan)
National Congress Party (Hezb-e-Congra-e-Mili Afghanistan) Secularism

Liberalism

Federalism

National Islamic Front (Hezb-e-Mahaz-e-Milli Islami) Afghan nationalism

Pashtun Interests

Royalism (formerly)

National Movement of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Nuhzhat-e-Mili Afghanistan)
National Solidarity Movement (Hezb-e-Nahzat-e-Hambastagee Mili) Monarchism
National Sovereignty Party (Hezb-e-Eqtedar-e-Mili)
National Islamic Unity Party (Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Mili Islami) Shi'a Islamism

Hazara minority rights

Religious conservatism

Afghan Nationalism

National Sovereignty Party (Hezb-e-Eqtedar-e-Mili)
National Islamic Unity Party (Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Mili Islami) Shi'a Islamism

Hazara minority rights

Religious conservatism

Afghan Nationalism

National Solidarity Party (Hezb-e-Paiwand Mili) Ismaili Shia interests
New Afghanistan Party (Hezb-e Afghanistan Naween)
Pashtoons Social Democratic Party (De Pashtano Tolaneez Wolaswaleez Gwand) Secularism

Social democracy

Pashtun nationalism
(Left-wing nationalism)

Link to file
People's Islamist Movement (Harakat-e Islami-yi)
People's Party of Afghanistan (Hizb-e Mardum-e Afghanistan) Populism
Progressive Democratic Party of Afghanistan Social democracy

Democratic socialism

Secularism

Labourism

Left-wing nationalism

Left-wing populism

Truth and Justice (Hezb-e-Haq-wa-Edalat) Multi-ethnic

Anti-corruption

Reformism

Eurasianism

Unit Party
Youth Solidarity Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Hambastagee Mili Jawanan) led by Doctor Fahim Tokhi Youth rights
Hezbollah Afghanistan Afghan Shiite minority rights

Shia Islamism

QutbismKhomeinism

Former parties

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The following is a list of historical parties disestablished prior to the founding of the Islamic Republic. 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
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,
Marxist-Leninism,
Secularism,
Left-wing nationalism
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.
People's Solidarity Movement of Afghanistan (Feda'ian) Socialism
Shola-e Javid Communism,
Marxism–Leninism,
Maoism,
Anti-revisionism
Banned in 1969 for opposing the Shah regime.

References

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  1. ^ Ziaei, Hadia (4 September 2022). "Officials: Afghanistan Does Not Need a Constitution". TOLOnews. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  2. ^ Gul, Ayaz (16 August 2023). "Taliban Ban Afghan Political Parties, Citing Sharia Violations". Voice of America. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Political Parties in Afghanistan," British Embassy in Kabul website (accessed 14 December 2012)
  4. ^ a b "Refworld | A House Divided? Analysing the 2005 Afghan Elections".
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See also

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