This article lists political parties in Afghanistan. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan had a

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coal ...

in development with numerous

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

, in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

s. No political party is permitted to exist that advocates anything that is deemed to go against

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic morality. The law governing the formation of political parties was promulgated in 2009, and requires parties to have at least 10,000 members, (previously they had only needed 700 members). The Afghan Ministry of Justice has registered 84 parties since the new law took effect. After the Fall of Kabul on August 15, 2021, the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

is now in ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' control of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

has been reestablished and many of the political parties are now banned or exiled. In September 2022, Acting Deputy

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

Maulvi Abdul Karim stated that there is "no need" for political parties to be active.

Major parties

Note that the following parties were major in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, now that the

has been reestablished the parties have been banned or sent to exile.

Minor parties

* Welfare Party of Afghanistan (''Hizb-e-Refah e Afghanistan'') *

National Movement Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

(''Basej-e Milli'') * Democratic Party of Afghanistan *

Afghanistan Coherence and Mutation Party Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

(''Majma e Haqiqat e Afghan'') * National Congress Party (''Hezb-e-Congra-e-Mili Afghanistan'') *

National Islamic Front The National Islamic Front ( ar, الجبهة الإسلامية القومية; transliterated: ''al-Jabhah al-Islamiyah al-Qawmiyah'') was an Islamist political organization founded in 1976 and led by Dr. Hassan al-Turabi that influenced th ...

(''Hezb-e-Mahaz-e-Mili Islami'') * National Movement of Afghanistan (''Hezb-e-Nuhzhat-e-Mili Afghanistan'') * National Solidarity Movement (''Hezb-e-Nahzat-e-Hambastagee Mili'') * National Sovereignty Party (''Hezb-e-Eqtedar-e-Mili'') * National Islamic Unity Party (''Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Mili Islami'') * National Solidarity Party (''Hezb-e-Paiwand Mili'') * New Afghanistan Party (''Hezb-e Afghanistan Naween'') *

Pashtoons Social Democratic Party The Pashtoons Social Democratic Party (abbr. PSDP; ps, د پښتنو ټولنیز ولسواکیز ګوند) is the unity and independence party of all Pashtuns, a social democratic political party in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The party was f ...

(''De Pashtano Tolaneez Wolaswaleez Gwand'') * People's Islamist Movement (''Harakat-e Islami-yi'') * People's Party of Afghanistan (''Hizb-e Mardum-e Afghanistan'') *

Progressive Democratic Party of Afghanistan Progressive Democratic Party of Afghanistan ( fa, حزب مترقی دموکرات افغانستان) is a political party in Afghanistan, founded in 1966. It was led by Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal, who was prime minister from 1965 to 1967. The ...

* Truth and Justice (''Hezb-e-Haq-wa-Edalat'') * Unit Party *

Youth Solidarity Party of Afghanistan Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yout ...

(''Hezb-e-Hambastagee Mili Jawanan'') led by Doctor Fahim Tokhi * Afghan Liberal Party (''Hizbe Azadikhwai Afghanistan'') *

Watan Party of Afghanistan The Watan Party of Afghanistan ( prs, حزب وطن افغانستان, ''Hezeb-e Vâtân-e Afqanustan'') is a social democratic political party in Afghanistan. The party describes itself as "national and democratic, progressive and reformist". ...

* Hezbollah Afghanistan

Former parties

Since the coup in 1973, Afghanistan has had many different political parties. These include

Mohammed Daoud Khan Mohammed Daoud Khan ( ps, ), also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan (18 July 1909 – 28 April 1978), was an Afghan politician and general who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 1973 Afghan coup ...

's National Revolutionary Party of Afghanistan, the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

and the

Democratic Watan Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), ''Hezb-e dimūkrātĩk-e khalq-e Afghānistān'' was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan established on 1 January 1965. Four members of the party won seats in the 1965 Afgh ...

from the

communist era A Communist Era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of Communist rule. Current communist states China The Chinese Communist P ...

, and the

Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان ''Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt ...

that took power after the Fall of Kabul in April 1992, and ran the country until the

's coup in 1996.

References

External links

د افغانستان متحد ملت ګوندAfghanistan United Nation Party Website

(from the Afghanistan Ministry of Justice)

*

Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...

Asia Briefing N°39
Political Parties in Afghanistan
5 June 2005 *

Afghanistan Analysts Network The Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) is an independent non-profit policy research and analysis organization. Founded in 2009, it is registered as an association in Germany and Afghanistan, funded in large part by Scandinavian countries, and has a ...

br>series on Afghan political parties (begun in 2012)

Political Parties in Afghanistan

United States Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American Federal government of the United States, federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individual ...

Major parties

Minor parties

Former parties

References

External links

See also