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TEFA expressed concerns over political interference in electoral bodies
By Farhad Naibkhel-KABUL: Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA) on Sunday expressed its deepest concerns over political interferences in the electoral bodies through high wings in the government and political clusters. While lamenting, TEFA said, “intrusion in electoral commission work is an apparent breach of the law, and also it will seriously affect practicing of democracy in the country”.
“We are worried about political pressure over electoral commissions by the government and political clusters,” Head of TEFA, Naim Ayobzada said.
He also informed of some report received by TEFA, showing interference in electoral bodies. “We are aware of interference inside the body.”
Coming up with an example he said, “not assigning Secretary Head for Independent Election Commission (IEC) in the past one month is questionable.”
He asked on the government and political figures not to interfere in Independent Election Commission (IEC), and Independent Electoral Compliant Commission (IECC), in order to provide a ground to continue working independently and professionally. “Any deal won’t be acceptable in election.”
“The upcoming election is a great opportunity for the government to earn people’s trust back over democracy process,” he insisted.
He highlighted, “if people once again mislay their trust over electoral bodies, then it would be impossible to regain it.”
While showing strong commitment for running of a free and fair parliamentary election, the Head of IEC, Najeebullah Ahmadzai, called on all political figures inside and outside of the government that restrain from interfering in the work of electoral bodies. He emphasized that the IEC won’t let anyone to interfere in IEC’s work and play with the fate of 30 million Afghan people.
Pointing toward introducing of three candidates to the Presidential Palace around one and half months ago, he asked the president to select one of the qualified figures for secretary head of the IEC.
The Head of IECC, Abdul Aziz Ibrahimi said “often the governmental officials pledge to respect independency of electoral bodies, but however it is just verbally. It must be put into practice practically.”
It is worth mentioning that after huge frauds in the presidential election in 2014, the National Unity Government in their initial days of work vowed to bring reform in election commissions aimed at digging people’s trust back on the electoral bodies.
After passing two years the government finally succeeded to assign new faces as commissioners for the electoral bodies. Delay in assigning new commissioners are the major cause of holdup in the parliamentary election.
