KABUL (Pajhwok): Pakistan is trying to disrupt next week’s landmark presidential and provincial council elections, Afghan security chiefs alleged while briefing the Wolesi Jirga (lower house of parliament) on Saturday.
The Deputy of Secretary of the United Nations, Hervé Ladsous said on Monday that rigging allegations must not be a pretext for refusing election results.
Mr. Ladsous, who is in Kabul to participate in the Nowruz festival, expressed his satisfaction over this year’s election preparations stating that the he hopes for a fair and transparent election as well as urging Afghan people to go vote.
Addressing his supporters in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, on Thursday presidential candidate Zalami Rassoul declared that his government would combat corruption and land-grabbing if elected. Rassoul also emphasized on creating job opportunities to facilitate the development of the youth.
"Land grabbing and corruption are two major issues in Balkh," Rassoul said. " In our government, no one would be superior than the law. Our team can and will seriously combat these issues."
HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): A number of residents of western Herat province on Wednesday complained about a lack of voter registration centres, asking the authorities to increase the number of such centres.
As the April 5 presidential and provincial council elections draw closer, enthusiasm among Herat residents is growing to participate in the national process. Presently, two voter registration centres are functional in Herat City.
Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani-Ahmadzai said in a gathering in eastern Paktiya province on Tuesday that peace and security would result in economic development for the province’s residents.
Ghani-Ahmadzai added that he is determined to take steps towards agriculture and industrial development of the province.
“We want an industarial Paktiya, each acre of government land needs an industrial park, without making Paktiya industarial there will be no jobs for Paktiya youths ,” Ghani-Ahmadzai said.
Afghan presidential candidate Abdul Rab Rassoul Sayyaf pledged in a speech in Herat on Tuesday to implement Islamic law and punish killers with the death penalty if he is elected president.
According to Sayyaf some elements try to frighten people regarding the involvement of the Mujahideen in the political process, and said that he would try to establish a totally Islamic rule in the country.
“We will establish an Islamic system which was also the aim of Jihad so that our oppressed nation is in the shadow of an Islamic government,” Sayyaf said.
Five Taliban insurgents attacked a regional Independent Election Commission (IEC)'s office, situated near a presidential candidate's home and Afghan National Army recruitment center on Tuesday, leaving five dead including the attackers, officials said.
More than ten people were injured in the attack.
The incident took place in Darul Aman area of Kabul, when two of the attackers detonated their explosives at the IEC office and opened way for three other attackers, said the Ministry of Interior Affairs Spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi.
Afghan MPs approved on Tuesday Younus Qanuni, a former House Speaker, as first vice president to replace Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, who died of a heart attack two weeks ago.
Qanuni was introduced by President Hamid Karzai to the MPs for a confidence vote.
"We have selected Mohammad Younus Qanuni from those who were offered for the first vice president and we hope you very soon confirm him," Karai said at the Parliament on Tuesday.
KABUL (Pajhwok): The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Tuesday urged President Hamid Karzai to initiate action against government officials interfering in electoral affairs and warned to expose such individuals.
IEC Spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor told Pajhwok Afghan News they had shared with the Presidential Palace documents proving government officials’ interference in the elections, due on April 5.
KABUL (Pajhwok): The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Monday voiced concern over government servants’ participation in the election campaign, saying necessary materials could not be transported to some restive areas.
Addressing a seminar on the role of religious scholars and tribal elders in the election process, IEC Secretary Ziaul Haq Amarkhel said preparations were in place to hold the vote on schedule.
KABUL (Pajhwok): Meshrano Jirga members on Sunday voiced their concern over the current security situation in the context of next month’s elections, asking the relevant organs to adopt stringent measures.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Sunday said that recent assessments carried out by site monitors indicate security issues have increased in some parts of the country, and will likely keep the IEC from distributing election materials to those areas.
Although the IEC has previously "finalized" a list of functional polling facilities - 6,775 polling centers and 21,663 polling sites - the new revelations about deteriorating security in some parts of the country is likely force election officials to adjust their expectations.
In the National Conference on Women's Political Participation in Kabul on Wednesday, some female provincial council candidates asserted that insecurity and some so-called traditional and social values are major obstructions that could overshadow their effective contribution in various spheres.
In the conference, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AHIRC) stated that women's political participation in the election process should be extended and problems confronted by women should be tackled.
KABUL (Pajhwok): The Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) on Wednesday announced removing another 116 individuals from the final list of provincial council candidate.
IECC Secretary Nadir Mohseni told a press conference in Kabul the runners had been disqualified because they did not meet age and academic requirements under the election law.
He added the scrutiny of candidates’ documents, ages and complaints against them had been completed. All 2,212 complaints against provincial candidates have been disposed of.
Addressing his supporters in Kunduz province on Wednesday, presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai pledged to ensure the establishment of two new districts in the province. Moreover, Ghani's first vice president Abdul Rashid Dostom declared his optimism about winning the election in the first run.
“This large gathering shows that we will win the election in the first round,” Dostom said.
Head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) Ahmad Yousaf Nuristani on Wednesday expressed apprehensions over possible electoral fraud enabled by security threats, saying that this will also undermine the effectiveness of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
Nursitani called on security institutions to clarify which areas they can maintain security in to ensure the safety of polling booths and voters. The IEC will soon share its assessments with security organs, Nuristani added.
President Hamid Karzai has nominated former House Speaker Younus Qanuni as vice president to replace recently deceased Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, who died of a heart attack this month, presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi said on Tuesday.
Mr. Qanuni needs parliamentary approval before assuming the position of Afghanistan's first vice president. If he does receive the vote of confidence, he will serve in the administration until to new government takes over after the elections in April.
The Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoIA) announced Tuesday that it has recruited 13,000 Afghan women to help in security procedures at polling centers across Afghanistan on election day, responding to concerns that female voters would have to be searched by male security guards before entering the polls.
The proper implementation of Islamic law in Afghanistan will lead to lasting peace, presidential candidate Abdul Rab Rassoul Sayyaf said on Monday at an event where he received endorsements from a number of religious scholars.
The Ulema members who expressed support for Sayyaf on Monday said that there was a dire need for greater promotion of and adherence to Islamic laws in order to resolve corruption and insecurity issues.
