The lawmakers in the Wolesi Jirga, the Lower House of the Parliament, on Sunday divided over accepting the new Speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani who was declared winner after a voting session on Saturday.
Rahmani, who was competing for the seat with Paktia MP Kamal Nasir Osuli, got 123 votes while his opponent got 55 votes.
Following the rifts on the new speaker, some footages, apparently captured by some lawmakers, were released on social media showing angry MPs trying to stop the new speaker to take his seat.
Other footage showed that a group of female lawmakers occupying the speaker’s seat and calling for an interim speaker and re-election for the position.
Talking to TOLOnews, Kabul MP Ramazan Bashardost said the controversy in the parliament over the election of the new speaker can be solved through legitimate ways, but he says the lawmakers “are not willing to address the issue through legal channels”.
