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AT News Report-KABUL: Afghanistan’s Parliament has declared that security threats will mar the upcoming parliamentary and district council elections. The grievance comes a few days after the election commission announced October 20th as the official date for parliamentary elections.
Parliamentarians were unanimous that the present security situation poses a peril to running free, fair and nationwide elections. Lawmaker Mirdad Khan Nejrabi quoting authentic reports said that 1,120 polling sites were under medium security threats and 1,122 sites under high security threat, which makes the vote process very challenging. He said that IEC had to register over 13 million voters, which seems a difficult task to accomplish in a few months.
He said that if the Presidential, Wolesi Jirga and district council run together it will be better based on security situation and financial expenditure.
Legislator Dawod Kalakani said that now day not only provinces even some district in capital such Surbai and Qarbagh has security challenges, how it is possible to the IEC run election transparently.
Lawmaker Sayed Ali Kazimi said that we welcome the decision of IEC for running election, but question is here that what measures will be hold to reinforce security for those sites located in insecure areas particularly remote district.
Legislator Lalai Hamidzai while expressing concern over registering of voters through their national ID cards and said that it is possible to the election face another challenges, thus government must focus over electronic ID cards.
He also said that it is better to the presidential, Wolesi Jirga and district council election run together in order to have free and fair election with a strict monitoring process.
The Wolesi Jirga on Saturday summoned IEC officials to elaborate about the issues and measures for running a free and fair election in the country, but the IEC officials with the claim that it is an independent body refused to come to the Wolesi Jirga and respond to lawmaker questions.
Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi said that the Wolesi Jirga as a responsible organ regarding the national process of election summoned the IEC officials to elaborate about election to the people, who have the right to know about running this national process.
Pointing to last IEC officials he said that they also claimed that they are independent, but what result presented to the people from last election. He said that who is the responsible for three years delay in running Wolesi Jirga election?
Criticizing lack of distribution of electronic ID cards by the government, he said that how they will guarantee the transparency of election through paper ID cards.
Reluctant to the summon of Wolesi Jirga by IEC is not defending from independency, but a kind of willing to once again postponed the election. He claimed that this commission has no the capacity and capability to run a free and fair election.
