KABUL - The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Friday confirmed receiving the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC)’s decision on final results from the April provincial council polls, but added the ruling had some problems.

Under election law, the IEC has 24 hours to seek explanation from the election watchdog about its decisions concerning elections.

IEC spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor told reporters in Kabul they held an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss IECC’s decisions on the final results. At the meeting, it was decided that a selected group of IEC officials would investigate the IECC’s ruling.

“Our initial assessment shows there are problems in the IECC’s decisions. As an example I can cite that all votes cast for some candidates in two provinces have been cancelled, which is against the law and international norms.”

“No one has the right to cancel all votes for a candidate. Votes from some polling sites have been invalidated but we are given no reason for that,” Noor said.

He said the ECC’s decisions had problems because the panel was naïve and it could not perform like the IEC under a mechanism within a framework.

Noor also said the IEC could not make a final decision on results from the provincial council elections in a short span of time.

“The IECC’s decisions need to be thoroughly investigated before entering the results into the system, which is not a job of a day or two.”

To a question, Noor said some candidates and their supporters had been claiming interferences in compiling the results, but the IEC had no evidence in this regard.

The provincial council elections were held simultaneously held with the first round of presidential election on April 5. About 2,600 people, including 308 females, had contested the elections.

The preliminary results announced last month declared 458 candidates, including 97 women, as winners. (Pajhwok)