KABUL - Independent Election Commission (IEC) spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor announced on Monday that the runoff round between the top two presidential candidates, required by law if no one received a majority of votes in the first round, will likely take place on June 14.
Although Mr. Noor emphasized that the date was not finalized yet, he acknowledged that it was significantly later than the original date of May 28 set in the election timeline. The two candidates expected to participate in the second round of voting are Abdullah Abdullah, who leads the vote count, and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, who trails a distant second.
IEC officials said the delay was caused by challenges in transporting election materials to and from remote parts of the country as well as other technical issues. However, the process of distributing new materials for the runoff is expected to begin in the next two days.
"The IEC has considered June 14, but still it is uncertain," Noor said on Monday. "We will share the details with media after the final results are announced, along with what prevented the IEC to conduct the elections according to the Constitution."
According to the Afghan Constitution, the runoff round is supposed to take place within 15 days of the final results announcement. With final results likely to be released in the coming days, a June 14 runoff would fail to meet the constitutional standard.
Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) spokesman Fahim Naeemi expressed concerns about the delay.
"If the election goes to a runoff, the IEC maintains constitutional responsibility to conduct the it within fifteen days," Naeemi said. "If that doesn't happen, it is not only a violation of the Constitution, but it also brings a lot of other problems."
Before the final results can be announced, the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) must submit its findings from fraud investigations to the IEC. Based on the election timeline, the ECC was originally expected to deliver its decisions to the IEC by May 8. (Tolonews)