Election watchdogs on Monday stressed early nomination of selection committee’s members so they could choose new commissioners on the electoral bodies.
The observers urged selection of honest and qualified people in the proposed committee in order to avoid irregularities in elections and confrontation between leaders of the unity government.
Electoral Reform Commission (ERC) had suggested that the selection committee should be comprised of seven members, including three from civil society groups.
Other members of the panel should be a woman, a representative of the Supreme Court Council, a representative of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), a representative of the Independent Commission for Overseeing the Implementation of Constitution (ICOIC) and a representative of the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Services Commission (IARCSC).
A month back, President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree ordering the Administrative Affairs Office at the Presidential Palace to introduce members of the selection committee, but the decree is yet to be implemented.
Election watchdogs on Monday insisted the selection committee should be formed at the earliest and urged transparency in the process.
Yousuf Rashid, Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) executive director, told Pajhwok Afghan News previous selection committees lacked transparency because their meetings were conducted secretly and information about the membership remained secret.
He, however, said such problems had been resolved to a great extent and balance had been considered between members from different organizations and government institutions in the new proposed selection committee.
The FEFA executive head said media outlets had the right to be informed about meetings of the selection committee.
Naeem Ayoubzada, the Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA) head, said members of the selection committee should be independent and not affiliated with the government.
He said the proposed committee should work under defined rules and regulations and its members should be selected in a transparent manner.
