Afghanistan Times
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AT-KABUL: The Afghanistan Protection and Stability Council (APSC), a major opposition party in the country, called on the government to hold the Wolesi Jirga and district council elections in early 2016.
In a media statement issued by APSC, the party said that elections should be held in early 2016 not between winter and autumn.
Delay in holding elections would definitely postpone the arrangement of the Loya Jirga, the statement added. It further said that the government should convene the Loya Jirga in a bid to legalize the current setup by amending the Constitution of the country.
Though, the council welcomed the decision of the government to hold the parliamentary and district council elections this year between the autumn and winter, but the opposition party termed the growing insecurity a great barrier in front of the elections.
As insecurity accelerating, the government might not be able to hold elections as per the schedule that it had announced, the statement added.
President Ashraf Ghani in a separate meeting with members of the Electoral Reform Commission and the Selection Committee at the Presidential Palace pledged to hold parliamentary and district council elections this year. But he didn’t reveal exact dates. However, he said the Independent Election Commission would announce the final dates.
Parliament’s five-year term was set to expire on June 22 last year, but elections due in April were postponed because of security fears.
