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Afghanistan and Yemen

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I saw Speaker Qanuni in Kabul two weeks ago. It is fair to say that the definition of a party in the Afghan context is pretty loose, and not the same as we might recognise in this country. However, the amount of fragmentation and splintering reflects the sort of tribal society that it is, and also emphasises the importance of the parliamentary elections. A presidential system, by definition, elects one person, whereas a parliamentary system allows a broader range of interests to be represented. We did not take it upon ourselves to try to reform the Afghan political party system last Thursday, but the civil society representatives who spoke at the conference were insistent about the need to open up the political process to more people from community groups and civil society more generally.