KABUL - Noor Mohammamd Noor, spokesman to the Independent Elections Commission (IEC) on Saturday reported that governors and a number of ministers were involved in riggings and interference in the first round of the presidential elections.
Election monitoring organizations have also reiterated that the government meddling in the election procedures damages the credibility of the process.
"Some of the individuals who serve within the government use resources and officials positions in support of a particular candidate, including governors, district chiefs and ministers," Noor said.
Observing associations have stressed that the government interference could change the outcome of the entire election course. Observers say that the IEC staffs were bribed to change ballots, which poses as threat on the credibility and legitimacy of the elections.
"This is one of our main concerns, our observers in various regions reported that government institutions particularly governors and police chiefs worked in favor of particular candidates," Mohammad Naeem Ayoubzada, chairman of the Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA) said.
President Hamid Karzai has warned the government officials of interfering in the election process. Many believe that the continuation of meddling in the election process will undermine the authenticity and reliability of the elections defusing the public trust in the process.
The IEC has begun transferring non-critical and critical elections materials to provinces on Saturday. Learning from the mistake in the first round of elections, the IEC is said to have printed close to 15 million ballots for the second round of elections to prevent a shortage of ballots and there will be over 24,000 thousand voting centers on Election Day.
In addition, suggestions from the two leading candidates will be considered for the runoff, meanwhile close to 25,000 observer cards have been considered for the two candidates.
IEC admits that security will be a challenge for the second round, but has stated that there no financial and technical problems. According to the IEC, the runoff will cost roughly $18 million, which has already been provided to the IEC.
April 5 elections were internally and internationally applauded as Afghan people—despite confronting threats and warnings from insurgent groups—came out and exercised their right to vote. (Tolonews)