Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

IEC Benefits High While Work Standard Low

IEC Benefits High While Work Standard Low

KABUL - Members of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) receive great benefits as being part of the country's well-funded election management organization. However, the wisdom of those perks begins to be called into question when the commission's work becomes as saddled by delays and corruption as it has during this year's election process.

According to an official source who spoke on condition of anonymity, the IEC's nine commissioners receive a salary of $8,000 USD a month - $4,000 from the Afghan government and $4,000 from the United Nations - as well as a full-time entourage of 10 bodyguards and three vehicles. The Chairman, Ahmed Yusuf Nuristani, is said to receive the same salary as the commissioners but also has a food allowance, 15 bodyguards and five vehicles available to him.

With these benefits in hand, the members of the commission are expected to make decisions and formulate the guidelines and procedures of the institution as well as oversee the work process of the IEC Secretariat. Yet, according to TOLOnews' source, much of the commission's responsibilities and the powers that come with them have been transferred to the Secretariat."For the sake of personal benefits, members of the commission have given many authorities to the Secretariat of the commission, and that is why these problems have occurred," the source said. "In reality, a deal was made between the members of the commission and Chairman of the IEC, former Head of the IEC Secretariat too, who took advantage of the situation to fulfil his personal goals while close oversight was not in place."

During the first round, but especially now in the runoff, concerns about the efficiency and integrity of the IEC have been raised. After missing a number of self-set deadlines in April, it turned out that 5,000 IEC employees were suspected of involvement in fraud with enough good reason to have them all blacklisted by the commission. Since then, the process has seen only greater challenges with the resignation of the IEC Secretariat Chief, Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhail, amid allegations of ballot stuffing.

Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah and his supporters still decry what they consider a large-scale engineered plot to help his opponent win the presidency, and have released a series of audio recordings publicly as supposed evidence against the commission and a number of local provincial governments.

Meanwhile, electoral analysts, along with members of the general public, have been quick to criticize the commission for their apparent mismanagement of the election process.

"All these problems come back to the issue of a lack of management, and the clear way out of it is to hold re-elections in areas where they say fraud has taken place," former IEC head Aziz-u-llah Ludin said. "There is no need for the United Nations or the President to interfere, the issue will be resolved."

The IEC has said that no re-elections will be held. According to IEC Commissioner Saree Ahmad Barmak, however, resolving the political crisis facing the country since Abdullah and his team decided to boycott vote counting after the second round is not part of the commission's responsibilities.

"There is management in the institution, the fraud that has taken place will be addressed, but addressing the political crisis and preventing far crisis are not among the responsibilities of the commission, it is the President's job to solve tensions," he said. (Tolonews)