Defence`s Feeds

The Turkish Defence Industry Directorate (SSB) signed a contract with Aselsan on 9 August for the local development of the HavaSOJ airborne stand-off jammer electronic support/electronic warfare system for the Turkish Air Force Command (TAFC). The contract covers the development and production of

Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for 20 October this year, three and a half years late. They were delayed so that the electoral system could be reformed – although what that delay achieved in terms of reforms, is questionable. The country’s first district elections are also still scheduled for the same day, although the Independent Election Commission (IEC) has proposed a delay to them and to the Wolesi Jirga elections in Ghazni province. In general, multiple, serious problems are emerging ahead of October’s planned elections, to do with, among other things, insecurity, voter registration, controversies over the two institutions charged with overseeing the vote and, less than three months before the poll, a call by some major political parties to change the election system. Not surprisingly, given the uncertainty over so many aspects of the parliamentary elections, doubts are increasing as to how good and inclusive they can be. To (hopefully) aid understanding, we have gathered together all our reporting on electoral reform and preparations for the 2018 elections since the establishment of the National Unity Government in September 2014 – here the introduction to this new thematic dossier by Ali Yawar Adili (with input from Thomas Ruttig).

With October’s Wolesi Jirga elections, Afghanistan’s third electoral cycle will be completed for three important institutions (the presidency, parliament and provincial councils). The third presidential (together with provincial council) elections were held on 5 April 2014. This poll revealed problems in the election-related institutions and the overall electoral framework, including related legislation.

The 2001 Bonn agreement on Afghanistan had stipulated that presidential and parliamentary elections be held simultaneously, “if possible.” It turned out to be impossible to do so during the very first electoral cycle, planned for 2004 and the presidential election went ahead separately, so there would at least be one achievement the then-United States president George Bush could point to going into his second term election. The first parliamentary elections were delayed for one year, to 2005.

The first-ever district council elections are still scheduled to be held simultaneously with the 2018 parliamentary polls, but now the Independent Election Commission (IEC) has proposed a delay to them and to the Wolesi Jirga elections in Ghazni province. The election of district councillors was supposed to close some of the gaps in the implementation of various election-related requirements in the country’s constitution. These probably will not happen: sufficient candidates have nominated themselves in less than a tenth of Afghanistan’s districts and the IEC has proposed a delay. This would move the district council elections to April 2019 when presidential and provincial council elections are scheduled, further complicated what should be the start of Afghanistan’s fourth electoral cycle.

The three and half year delay of the parliamentary elections means that, for the first time since the overthrow of the Taleban regime in 2001 and Afghanistan’s embarking on a road toward democracy, the country is completing one electoral cycle (its third) while the next, (the fourth) is about to start. The next presidential elections have been scheduled for 20 April 2019, and it is foreseeable that the aftermath of the parliamentary poll – counting, adjudication and dealing with complaints – will crash into the start of preparations for the presidential and other elections. The delays and the problems resulting from this will likely mirror a significant drop in the quality of the Afghan elections and flag severe shortcomings in Afghanistan’s aspiring democracy.

69 days ahead of elections day, there are any number of unresolved issues to do with the parliamentary elections.

The 20 October 2018 elections

Voter registration and electoral system

Thehead of IEC field operations, Zmarai Qalamyar, on 8 August, gave AAN a precise breakdown of voter registration. He said 9,072,208 had registered – 5,783,037 (63.7%) men, 3,114,942 (34.3%) women and, as separately registered groups, 173,646 (1.9%) Kuchi (nomads) and 583 (0.006%) Hindu and Sikh voters. As of 8 August, the details of more than 3.5 million registered voters have been entered into the IEC’s database, according to IEC chairman Gula Jan Abdul Badi Sayyad. The IEC is currently working to input the remaining registered voters into its central database, before it verifies and approves the final voter list.

AAN’s conversations with national and international election experts show that the IEC’s database can only detect two types of fraudulent voter registration: underage voter registration and multiple or duplicate registration using the same tazkera (national ID) with the same serial number. However, it cannot discover multiple registrations with fake tazkeras which have different serial numbers; these can only be identified by cross-checking with the database of the Afghanistan Central Civil Registration Authority (ACCRA). This understanding was confirmed by Sayed Ibrahim Sadat, the head of the IEC’s IT department, on 6 August, as reported by Tolonews (see here).

To achieve this goal, Sayyad said that the IEC planned to establish a technical joint committee with ACCRA to identify fake tazkeras used in the voter registration. This means that the committee will cross-check the tazkeras used for registration with the ACCRA database. However, the question is whether ACCRA has a credible database for the paper tazkeras and whether there is enough time to ascertain more than the nine million tazkeras. Therefore, it is likely that that many instances of fraudulent voter registration using fake tazkiras may not be unearthed.

Many political parties (1) are questioning the voter registration and said that biometric voter registration should have been undertaken from the start. In addition to this, they have two additional demands: changing the current electoral system, Single Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV), into a system called Multi-Dimensional Representation (MDR) and allowing parties to have an observation room within the IEC to observe preparations for the elections. A joint committee of representatives of political parties, the government and the IEC led by second Vice-President Sarwar Danesh have been discussing these demands in five rounds of meetings, with the first one held on 28 July (see here). On 1 August, the committee held a technical meeting (see here) in which, according to a source from Danesh’s office, a German company called Dermalog had a presentation on the use of “biometric technology,” this less than three months ahead of the poll.

In its last meeting on 5 August, the committee could not agree to the parties’ demands. According to Danesh’s media office, the committee concluded that the government “had stressed the use of biometric technology in elections more than any other organisation in the past.  Now if the IEC agrees, the government does not have any problem [with it] and the government also calls on the IEC to pave the way for using this technology in the [next] presidential elections.”

With respect to the parties’ demand to change SNTV into MDR, the vice-president’s media office reported that the committee had concluded that this proposal “in addition to the time constraints, has its own complexity and, thus, requires a broad national debate. Even if this proposal could be passed through a presidential legislative decree, it might still be rejected by the parliament. Therefore, the best way is that the [next] Afghan parliament [should] decide about changing the electoral system.”Since then, the political groups have been saying they will not accept the results of the elections held using the current manual voter registration and in the absence of any change to the electoral system (see this Khabarnama report quoting Anwarul Haq Ahadi, head of the New National Front of Afghanistan). Jamiat-e Islami member Nur Rahman Akhlaqi also told AAN on 9 August that the parties were considering not allowing the elections to be held using the manual voter registration. Any hardening of positions by these political parties could, of course, adversely impact the poll.

Electoral calendar

The IEC is lagging behind in the 2018 elections’ electoral calendar which sets specific deadlines for various important activities. The calendar specified 30 June to 2 July as the timeframe for addressing the complaints against the preliminary candidates’ list; the IEC should have published the final list on 3 August. However, it was only on 4 August that the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) announced it had disqualified 25 candidates for having links to illegal armed groups. It gave two days, as per the electoral law, to these candidates to appeal against the ECC decision. That meant that, on 8 August, the ECC was still holding an open session to address the appeals of the disqualified candidates (see here).

The Ghazni problem

In late July, the IEC proposed a postponement of both the Wolesi Jirga and district council elections in Ghazni as well as district council elections in the entire country. The IEC reasoned that “serious security situation and other problems” in Ghazni could prevent fair and inclusive representation from the entire province (media report here). It also argued that as only 40 out of Afghanistan’s 387 districts had an adequate number of candidates standing, this render district elections pointless (see media reporting here). In accordance with the electoral law,both proposals have been submitted to a high-ranking committee that has yet to convene. The National Security Council (NSC), whose members are part of the committee, discussed the IEC proposal concerning both district council elections and elections in Ghazni in its 7 August meeting. According to a report on the website on the presidential palace, the NSC, after “detailed discussions, decided that technical and practical studies and consultation were needed in this regard and asked the IEC to present a report on specific and practical alternatives in this regard for the necessary decision-making.”

The presidential election

During the 1 August press conference, the IEC also announced 31 Hamal 1398 (20 April 2019) as the date for the next presidential and provincial council elections. A day before, on 31 July, the IEC held a consultative meeting with the ECC leadership, representatives of political parties, civil society and international organisations where they discussed this date in terms of “operational, financial and administrative, security as well as climate aspects.” The IEC reported that a “majority” of the participants had agreed with the 20 April 2019 date.

The announcement of the presidential election date has been made well ahead of the legal deadline. The presidential term expires on 22 May 2019. According to the electoral law, the election for a new president should be held 30 to 60 days before the expiry date. This means that the next election should be held between 22 March and 22 April 2019. Article 71 of the electoral law stipulates that the IEC should announce the election date at least 180 days in advance, and publish the electoral calendar at least 120 days before the election day. This means that the respective deadlines are 22 September to 22 November to announce the date and 22 October 2018 to 22 December 2018 to publish the election calendar.

However, the early announcement of the date by the IEC was made in response to a call by the President Ghani. On 22 July, during a meeting in the Palace with the IEC members, the United Nations and the European Union special representatives and a number of ambassadors of countries supporting the elections, the president asked the IEC to “set thepresidential election date and share it with the people as soon as possible.” UNAMA welcomed the announcement as “an important moment for democracy in Afghanistan.” However, some election observers called the IEC’s announcement of the date “a rush.” Executive director of Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA) Yusuf Rashid told the media on 1 August that either the date would be missed or the elections would be held [on 20 April 2019] [but with] a myriad of problems. “We are worried about the consequences of the next [presidential] elections,” he said.

The IEC during its 1 August press conference called for the “cooperation of the international community and the government in funding the next presidential election and ensuring its security.” This call for cooperation came a few days after UNAMA had announced on 25 July that “at the third project board meeting to support the upcoming parliamentary and district council elections, a new agreement was signed to enable enhanced contributions to Afghanistan’s electoral budget” and “[d]onors pledged to fund an additional US$57 million to the elections budget, in addition to pledging ongoing assistance to the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC).” (UNAMA press release here) and media reporting here.)

More than three years for reform

AAN has covered attempts at and discussions of electoral reform extensively. There was an opportunity of more than three years for reform, but little was done. During this period, AAN’s reporting particularly featured the NUG leaders’ wrangling over the establishment of the Special Electoral Reform Commission (SERC), which had been envisaged in the NUG’s 2014 political deal; the SERC’s discussions and recommendations for electoral reform; parliament’s rejection of presidential legislative decrees that had adopted some of SERC’s recommendations and finally; changes to the electoral law which were endorsed by legislative decree and the appointment of new electoral commissioners for the IEC and the ECC. All of this is covered by AAN’s dispatches under section B.

Go to the dossier here.

 

(1) Following is a list of 21 parties that first coalesced around the demand in February 2018. Since then, they claim that the number has increased up to 35 (see here).

• [Hezb-e] Eqtedar-e Melli
• Afghan Mellat
• [Hezb-e] Paiwand-e Melli
• Jabha-ye Nawin-e Melli Afghanistan
• Jabha-ye Nejat-e Melli Afghanistan
• Jamiat-e Islami Afghanistan
• Jombesh-e Melli Islami Afghanistan
• Herasat-e Islami Afghanistan [previously known as Hezb-e Wahdat-e Melli Islami-ye Afghanistan]
• Harakat-e Islami Afghanistan
• Harakat-e Islami-ye Mutahed Afghanistan
• Harakat-e Enqelab-e Islami Mardom-e Afghanistan
• Hezb-e Islami Afghanistan [both Hekmatyar and Arghanidwal factions]
• Hezb-e Islami-ye Mutahed Afghanistan
• Hezb-e Etedal-e Afghanistan
• [Hezb-e] Haq wa Adalat
• Rawand-e Hefazat az Arzeshha-ye Jihad wa Muqawamat
• Hezb-e Qeyam-e Melli Afghanistan
• Mahaz-e Melli Islami Afghanistan
• Nahzat-e Hambastagi-ye Melli Afghanistan
• [Hezb-e] Wahdat-e Islami Afghanistan
• [Hezb-e] Wahdat-e Islami Mardom-e Afghanistan

The Command of the 8th Naval District (Com8DN) of the Brazilian Navy took delivery in July of its first DGS 888 Raptor fast attack multi-mission armoured craft, called Poraquê , from local firm DGS Defense. The boat, the first heavily armoured craft of its size for Brazil, primarily reinforces

The China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA), the flight technology development arm of state-owned space and defence technology prime China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), announced on 3 August that it has successfully developed and tested China’s first experimental

The Croatian Ministry of Defence (MoD) invited the Israeli Air Force (IAF) to visit Croatia on 2-5 August as it negotiated the purchase of F-16 combat aircraft from Israel. The potential deal reflected Croatia’s growing sign of support and friendship with Israel, with the arrival of three

The Italian Parliament approved the transfer of 12 patrol boats to Libya on 7 August. The vessels will be operated by the Libyan Coast Guard and the Ministry of Interior, and are intended to support efforts to stem the flow of illegal migrants through the Mediterranean. The boats are being donated

Systematic’s Sitaware Frontline command-and-control (C2) software is to be integrated onto the Lithuanian Land Force’s future armoured combat vehicles, the company announced on 8 August. Sitaware Frontline will be installed aboard the Land Force’s 8x8 Boxer infantry fighting

Event On 6 August, students – including school children – protested in Dhaka for a ninth consecutive day to demand improved road safety regulations. The protests were initially triggered by the death of two children in a road accident on 29 July but quickly spread across the capital,

Thales announced on 10 August that it has extended its acceptance period for the acquisition of digital security company Gemalto due to delays in receiving regulatory approval. Thales’ offer to Gemalto shareholders of EUR51 (USD59) per share was originally due to expire on 6 June but was

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) should complete a national maritime strategy to sustain the US-flagged commercial cargo ships on which the Pentagon relies to ship Defense Department cargo, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has said. The DOT has drafted but not issued the national

Key Points President Kabila likely intends to use the announcement of Ramazani Shadary’s candidacy to retain power, either as a disguise for his own upcoming presidential candidacy or de facto through parallel channels while out of office. However, the ascension of Ramazani Shadary to the

The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has re-contracted state-owned company ASC to deliver the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) Collins-class submarine training programme. Services that will be delivered in the contract include operator, maintainer, and operational training for all

More than 1,000 Australian businesses have formally registered interest in becoming part of the supply chain in support of Australia’s programme to build 12 next-generation submarines, the Department of Defence (DoD) in Canberra has announced. In a statement on 9 August, Australian Minister

Iran was trying to send a message when it held a naval exercise as the United States reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic, according to General Joseph Votel, the commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM). CENTCOM noted apparent preparations for the exercise on 1 August, when it stated it was

The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) is to adjust the composition of its planned future Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules fleet to reflect the recent loss of an aircraft on operations in Iraq. The RAF fields both the ‘short-bodied’ C-130J (designated C5 in RAF service) and

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has pledged to invest in developing cyber-defence capability as part of wider military reforms. The MND said on 9 August that its new ‘cyber-security enhancement plan’ features the restructuring of its existing cyber-defence systems

Key Points The Philippine Navy has conducted a successful acceptance firing of the Spike ER missile Weapon significantly improves the service’s anti-surface warfare capabilities Representatives from Rafael Defense Systems and the Philippine Navy (PN) have concluded sea acceptance test of

The Dutch F-35 based at Edwards Air Force Base has carried out tests with the Lightning II in “Bomb Truck”/”Beast Mode” configuration lately. 323 TES (Test & Evaluation Squadron), the Dutch unit based at Edwards Air Force Base and responsible for the F-35 Operational Test and Evaluation Phase (OT&E) as part of the Joint Operational […]

Americas

The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division is procuring support equipment for its fleet of E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. Northrop Grumman will supply the Navy with 45 end items of Peculiar Support Equipment (PSE) at a cost of $29.9 million. The firm-fixed-price order includes the delivery of updated software sets, system specification documents and obsolescence management. E-2D support activities are conducted through the PEO(T) and PEO(U&W) programs led by the Supporting Program Executive Office. Both programs provide flight line and intermediate maintenance level test equipment & automated test equipment for the E-2D. The E-2D gives the warfighter expanded battlespace awareness, especially in the area of information operations delivering battle management, theater air and missile defense, and multiple sensor fusion capabilities in an airborne system. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Florida, and is expected to be completed in August 2021.

The Missile Defense Agency is procuring further efforts for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) from Lockheed Martin. The cost-plus award fee valued at $15.8 million provides for the procurement of materials and work necessary to support the BMD Increment 3 Capability Concept Development; and raises the total cumulative contract value to $2.8 billion. Aegis can simultaneously attack land targets, submarines, and surface ships while automatically protecting the fleet against aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Aegis has become a widely-deployed top-tier air defense system, with customers in the USA, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Norway, and Spain. Work will be performed at the company’s location in Moorestown, New Jersey and is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.

The Air Force is ordering the next round of receiver technology for its military GPS development program. Raytheon is being awarded with a $11.3 million contract modification for the development of the miniaturized airborne global positioning system (GPS) receiver 2K-M. Under the Military GPS User Equipment program (MGUE), the Air Force’s GPS Directorate is developing receiver cards that will plug into existing equipment, enabling them to utilize the new military M-Code. Last year Raytheon’s MAGR-2K-M underwent a successful prototype and system functional check on the B-2 — confirming the card could draw power, put out the right data and that that data was being received by the B-2 systems in the appropriate format. So far, the military has identified more than 700 types of weapons systems that will need to be upgraded — an effort requiring almost one million receiver cards. Work will be performed at Raytheon’s locations in El Segundo, California; and Huntsville, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by the end of May 2020.

The US Air Force is contracting Lockheed Martin to rapidly advance the development and testing of new hypersonic missiles. An initial contract for the development for Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon (HCSW, pronounced “Hacksaw”) at a cost $928 million was awarded to the company in April. Lockheed will also develop another weapon system named the AGM-183A or ARRW for short. HCSW has been designed to deliver a prompt hypersonic / hypervelocity, precision strike capability against high-value, time-critical fixed and re-locatable surface targets in a single or multi-theatre challenged anti-access / area denial (A2/AD) environment. By using a rocket to boost the missile to very high altitudes, the unpowered ARRW then glides down to lower altitudes at speeds up to Mach 20. The US acceleration of the hypersonic missile development project is a necessary response towards Chinese and Russian surprise developments in high-speed weapons.

Middle East & Africa

AAI Corp., a subsidiary of Textron, is being contracted for the provision of force protection efforts in Afghanistan. The firm-fixed price contract has a value of $12.7 million. AAI will most likely use its Aerosonde as an advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) solution in order to provide the US military with the capability to effectively execute a number of deployment operations and engineering support activities. The Aersonde is equipped for simultaneous day-and-night full-motion video, communications relay and intelligence in a single flight. It has an endurance of over 14 hours and can travel to a range of about 75 nautical miles. Work will be performed at Bagram Airfield and Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, and is expected to be completed by March 27th, 2019.

Côte d’Ivoire’s Gendarmerie is now using the Belarusian-made Cayman 4×4 light armored vehicle. Last month the State Military-Industrial Committee (Goskomvoenprom) announced that it will deliver the vehicle to an unnamed African nation. Built by the 140 Repair Plant in Borisov, vehicle can be used in reconnaissance and sabotage missions, patrol, escort, peace-keeping and police operations, as well as in emergency response missions. It weighs about 7 tons and can carry a crew of six. A 170 hp D-245 engine powers it to a top speed of 60 mph on paved roads. Its side and rear armor is said to be equivalent to STANAG 4569 Level 1 and its frontal armor equivalent to Level 2. Côte d’Ivoire which currently has a protection company serving with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) is the first known export customer of the Cayman 4×4.

Europe

A Spanish Eurofighter accidently launched an AIM-120 AMRAAM in Estonia. The fighter aircraft was flying near defenses near Pangod in the vicinity of Otepää when the incident occurred. It is yet unclear if the AIM-120D’s built in self-destruct mechanism terminated the flight or if the missile landed at an unspecified location. The Estonian Defense Forces have sent helicopters to search for the missile. The Spanish Eurofighter is part of NATO’s Air Policing Mission that support member states that do not have the necessary air capabilities to independently protect their airspace. The Spanish air force currently deploys six Typhoons as part of this mission. An investigation has been initiated to clarify the circumstances.

Asia-Pacific

Jane reports that the Philippines is currently negotiating the terms of an agreement to expand collaboration on diesel-electric submarines with Russia. The Philippine Navy is currently in the process of conducting market research and doctrine studies in support of its submarine procurement program. The Navy is looking to purchase at least two submarines as part of its 2018-22 Second Horizon military modernization program. If the agreement realizes Russia would provide the Philippine Navy with submarine training to support military operations, maintenance, and sustainment activities.

Today’s Video

Watch: What does it take to become a certified C2-A Pilot?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ecuadorian Ministry of National Defense (MND) outlined its strategy to strengthen the country’s armed forces on 2 August, with its goals including the acquisition of new platforms and the repair and modernisation of existing ones. The objective for the army is to acquire light