Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Kabul (BNA) The precise day and exact time for when the presidential and provincial council elections are held, would be announced just in the next one month, and the government would never be allowed to interfere in the process, an official said Tuesday.
The constitutionally announced presidential and provincial council elections time was first week of Hamal (the end week in March), but the day would be fine-tuned in the next one month, chairman of International Election Commission (IEC), Fazl Ahmad Manawi told reporters in a consultative gathering with the representatives from political parties and civil society.
The date would never be replaced and the time will not be changed, he emphasized, vowing a transparent process to be scheduled across the country.
He called cooperation of the people a need to have a justice, transparent and free fraud elections process nationwide, but warned the previously distributed electoral cards would make the process hard to be fully justice unless the electronic IDs were distributed soon; however he looks unsure on completion of the population statistic and distribution of the electronic IDs till 2014.
Insecurity was another challenge would be faced by the process, unless the security forces were fully committed to take security of up to 7,000 voting centers across the country.
But, he was sure that the required budget of the process reaching to $150 million would be paid by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The assertions and preparations for the presidential and provincial council elections come after some national and international organizations are extremely concerned if a transparent presidential election is held in the country.
Neither the government nor the international channels would be allowed to interfere in the elections, he pledged adding the government can only cooperate impartially with the process.
The elections in the past were full of fraud and violations as the electoral complaints commission and the IEC overthrew more than 1.5 million bullet papers.
