Afghanistan Times
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KABUL: The Independent Election Commission (IEC) in a statement on Monday confirmed that a budget of $149 million – of which nearly 60 percent will be provided by the Afghan government–has been approved for the upcoming presidential election.
The IEC in a statement said the relevant authorities had approved the budget three days ago.
The statement further said that the government of Afghanistan would contribute $90 million to the election budget, adding the international community would donatea further $59 million to the democratic practice.
Moreover, this is the first time ever that the Afghan government has been able to pay for more than 60 percent of the election’s cost.
The electoral body continued to say that the commission remained committed to hold the presidential election scheduled for September 28.
This comes as the peace talks are ongoing parallel to the holding of presidential polls and the delayed approval of the budget had ultimately led to arising apprehensions among some of the presidential candidates regarding the successful conduct of the process.
However, the election body on Sunday notified about the preparations for the polls, saying it will announce the voters’ list in the next two days.
The IEC had earlier demanded a $146 million from the Afghan government and international community for holding the presidential poll.
Meanwhile, the Meshrano Jirga or Senate on Sunday announced delaying its summer recess in order to approve the half year’s budget, including the budget for presidential election.
