Afghan parliament functions but faces risk group

KABUL, May 16 (Reuters) Afghanistan's new parliament is beginning to function properly but it risks being dominated by old power-brokers unless political blocs emerge, an international think-tank said today.

The parliament was elected in landmark polls last September with candidates running as individuals, not as members of parties.

But parties are vital for the development of a robust democracy, the International Crisis Group said.

''In its opening months, the bicameral legislature has functioned slowly but encouragingly steadily,'' the Brussels-based group said in a report.

''(But) the success of the fledgling institution remains delicately poised, particularly because of the absence of a formal role for political parties,'' it said.

''The lack of such organised blocs has seen power-brokers of past eras try to dominate proceedings. New moderate forces need to move quickly now to establish formal groups within the houses to ensure their voices are heard,'' it said.

The parliament, the first after decades of war, convened in December and performed its first major task last month when it approved most of the members of President Hamid Karzai's new cabinet.

The parliament includes members of factions that battled Soviets occupiers in the 1980s, and each other in the 1990s, former communists, former Taliban, women's activists and young professionals.

While members of old factions, several accused of abuses during the civil war, are seen as being in a slight majority, parliament should, nevertheless, be supported, the group said.

''That the legislature contains warlords, commanders and drug traffickers is undisputed, but it is the institution, not the individual members, that is important,'' it said.

''Their presence must not be used as an excuse to marginalise the body.'' The International Crisis Group said Karzai's government appeared to calculate that a weak, fragmented legislature would mean more power for itself. Karzai won a presidential election in 2004 and does not have a political party.

But a weak assembly could have dangerous consequences, the group said.

''If the national assembly is not seen to be achieving anything, citizens are likely to lose faith in democratisation as a whole, allowing old power-brokers to reassert themselves outside constitutional structures,'' it said.

The government should coordinate its business with parliament and involve parliamentary leaders in state functions and decision-making, the group said.

The international community should help build up the prestige of parliament and help develop the expertise of its members, it said.

REUTERS DKS RN1610