KABUL - The head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) secretariat, Imam Mohammad Warimach, on Friday said the dates for parliamentary and districts council elections will be announced once the election budget has been finalized and the election process has been digitized.
Warimach also said that elections might not be held in the next solar year – despite the IEC having said recently that elections could take place in the fall.
“The IEC wants to hold elections in November, but if the discussions on digitizing the election process take any longer, it may create challenges and then we will not be able to hold elections in the mentioned time,” said Warimach.
National Unity Government (NUG) leaders and members of the election commission have, for the past month, been in talks with the international community over the digitalization of the election process and over funding.
Meanwhile, institutions overseeing the election process said the IEC has failed to maintain trust among the people and the international community regarding transparent elections.
“It depends on the election commission and they should assure the international community and the Afghan government that they can manage the election and that they will hold it transparently,” said Habiburrahman Nang, a member of the Afghan Civil Society and Election Network (ACSEN).
“If the Afghan government secures the international community’s trust then they will be interested in funding the election process,” said Ghulam Farooq Majroh, an MP.
Meanwhile, commenting on reports of the reappointment of Zabiullah Wagarai, the former head of election commission for Paktia, as head of election commission for Nangarhar province, Warimach said: “Zabiullah’s duty station has been changed due to some problems that he had. The election commission will bring reforms and, in the near future, will assess IEC staff and will decide about them based on their performance.”
In an earlier interview with TOLOnews, the deputy head of the IEC said the international community and the Afghan government said they will fund the elections - if the process is transparent. (Tolonews)