The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Monday warned government officials that it would not remain silent about interference if any occurs in the final round of this year’s presidential election.
According to the IEC, during the first round, governors, district governors and even top Ministry officials meddled in the process. Much of the fraud orchestrated by such officials is thought to have been motivated by personal relations with candidates, political allegiances or career ambitions.
“The IEC is taking this issue seriously this time, and the Afghan government is obligated to not let any government official, whether a Minister, Deputy Minister or Director, or even low ranking employees, to interfere,” IEC spokesman Noor Muhammad Noor said on Monday. “At the end of the day, the Commission will not sit on its hands this time.”
But promises of accountability in the second round may not be enough to appease monitoring organizations. Observers on Monday said those who were involved in fraud in the first round should be brought to justice.
“Not bringing these people to trial, not proving that government and public resources were used for interference and not suspending them from their positions will send a negative message for the future,” Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) Chairman Nader Naderi said. "A message that there is impunity and these people can break the law and misuse their official posts.”
The IEC reportedly submitted a list of government officials who were found to have interfered in the first round of the election to President Hamid Karzai. No action has yet been taken against them, despite Karzai repeatedly speaking out in the media against government meddling in the election.
“The IEC has requested and continues to request that the government does not interfere in the election process, and officials must not be allowed to used government facilities in favor of a specific candidate or against a specific candidate,” Noor said on Monday.
There are concerns that if no legal action is taken against those responsible for the hefty amount of fraud that took place in the first round then the credibility of the entire election could be undermined. This year’s vote marks the country’s first democratic transition of power in modern history.
TOLOnews tried to contact the Office of Administrative Affairs & Council of Ministers Secretariat for comments on this story but was unsuccessful.
Source/Fuente: http://www.tolonews.com/elections2014/iec-warns-government-against-meddl...
