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Wolesi Jirga: Polls in Ghazni May be Delayed

Wolesi Jirga: Polls in Ghazni May  be Delayed

KABUL -  Wolesi Jirga elections in southern Ghazni province and national-wide district council polls would be held four months after the October 20 elections as per the law, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced Tuesday.
The IEC said it was left with no option but to suggest the delay in the elections in Ghazni and the district council elections after the National Security Council (NSC) failed to take a decision regarding the issue.
Earlier, the IEC had said it suggested delay in the elections due to lack of female candidates in District Council elections and flaws in the standards set for the district councils elections.
In Ghazni, local residents kept the provincial IEC office closed for one month, demanding constituency-based polls in Ghazni. So the election commission refered to the Ghazni issue and nation-wide district council polls to the NSC to in line with article 104 of the Constitution.
The NSC committee comprised of NSC deputy head, heads of the two houses of parliament, the Chief Justice, Attorney General and head of the Independent Commission for Overseeing the Implementation of Constitution. The committee has the authority to delay the elections for at least four months during an emergency situation.
IEC deputy spokesman Merza Mohammad Haqparast said due to following reasons the district councils election may be delayed for four months.
No candidate registered in more than 40 districts
In 120 districts, no woman applied to contest the district council polls
In some districts, the number of candidates is equal to the seats so there is no chance for competition
In line with the information of the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG), 364 districts are officially recognized while 11 districts are unofficially known in the country.
As a result of the existing crisis, the IEC referred the issue to the NSC one month earlier.
Haqparast added the NSC had not yet responded to the IEC regarding the election issue in Ghazni and district council polls.
“Elections in Ghazni may be delayed for four months and would be held along with District Councils polls,” he said. (Pajhwok)