KABUL - Following the announcement of the new electoral commissioners on Tuesday, members from institutions overseeing the election process have said the new members do not have enough experience and that a number of them have close ties to government leaders.
"When the commissioners do not have experience and technical knowledge about elections, then the process will not be managed as it should be," said Naeem Ayubzada, head of Free Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA).
"The commissioners' seats are divided between tribes and political parties. Such division cannot solve election problems, but will create more problems in the next election," said Jandad Spinghar, director of Election Watchdog Afghanistan (EWA.)
However, the CEO's office said the commissioners are all qualified people.
"The new commissioners are skilled, educated and experienced people. Most of them have PH.Ds and Masters and we hope that they manage the next election better than the last one," said Jawed Faisal, deputy spokesman of CEO.
More than 700 applicants applied for the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and Independent Election Complaints Commission (IECC), but only 12 of them were selected as members of the IEC and IECC.
"Among those 700 applicants, there were people who had good experience. A number of them were rejected because they did not fulfill the requirements," said Naeem Asghari, a member of the Free and Fair Elections Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA.)
But critics have said the credentials of a number of the new commissioners were not evaluated properly by the selection committee and government.
For instance, the appointment letter of Najibullah Ahmadzai, that was sent to the media from the presidential palace, shows that he is just 20 years old when in fact he is 40.
According to Ahmadzai's appointment letter, he received his master's degree at the age of 19 – when one takes the noted date of birth into consideration.
"It is obvious that some people are not truthful to pass the process. However, if anyone is appointed as commissioner and then it is proven that he/she lied, the commissioner will lose his/her job," said Yusuf Rashid, a member of selection committee. (Tolonews)