Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Senate Urges Neutrality, IEC Draws Line on Result Sheets

Senate Urges Neutrality, IEC Draws Line on Result Sheets

KABUL - Senate Chair Fazl Hadi Muslimyar on Tuesday urged Afghan election officials to maintain their neutrality in the vote counting process just as the Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced it would disqualify all result sheets that fail to meet pre-established standards for validation.

IEC officials announced partial results, based on 10 percent of ballots, on Sunday, putting Abdullah Abdullah in the lead for the presidential race. However, the other candidates, and now a number of Senators, have emphasized the importance of cases of fraud being investigated and invalid votes distinguished from the rest before results are established.

The IEC is expected to announce the preliminary results of the presidential election on April 24. And the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) is to adjudicate the over 3,000 complaints that have been filed since Election Day by May 8, with the final results of the election being announced by May 14.

"We give the IEC and ECC time to ensure fake votes are separated from genuine votes, and not accept pressure from anyone," Senate Chair Muslimyar said on Tuesday. "They must try to focus on what the people want from them."

IEC officials have repeatedly reaffirmed their commitment to conducting the vote-counting process in a fair and transparent manner. Election Day saw less overt fraud and ballot box stuffing than was the case in 2009, according to observers, but much of the improprieties that did take place were done by IEC personnel. The Commission employed some 97,000 people nationwide to manage the process on May 5.

After Tuesday, all result sheets that lack proper packaging and validation are now expected to be disqualified. The IEC said up to 400 packs of result sheets were brought to the headquarters in Kabul in non-official packaging, without an IEC stamp or endorsement signature from observers. The packs were assessed in an open-door meeting in the presence of media and election monitors.

According to the IEC, special packages had been sent to provincial election offices to be used to contain the result sheets from each polling center, but in some cases they were not used or were clearly tampered with. Each center's package was intended to include the results from two to four polling sites.

A number of observers representing presidential candidates have claimed that even some of the result sheets properly packaged were inconsistent with vote registry numbers, suggesting there could still be illegitimate votes among them.

The presidential candidates and their supporting staffs have been the most outspoken about the vote counting process, and the need for fairness and transparency as results begin to be publicized. Reportedly, hundreds of the complaints filed with the ECC were from candidates.

On Tuesday Senator Khaliq Dad Balaghi recommended that the Upper House summon ECC officials to discuss the complaint investigation process.

"Both commissions must pursue impartiality and announce the election results with honesty," Senator Ali Akbar Jamshidi said on Tuesday.

The senators also called on the presidential candidates to respect the election commissions and their processes for determining results. (Tolonews)