Hold elections before reforms, Gilani tells govt

Fuente: 
Pajhwok
Fecha de publicación: 
10 Ene 2016

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Coordination Council of Political and Jihadi parties on Sunday said the government should announce the schedule for parliamentary and district council elections before bringing electoral reforms.

Pir Syed Ahmad Gilani, the council spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan News during an exclusive chat the announcement of dates for the elections was more important than changes to the election commissions.

Gilani favoured holding elections first calling it principle of democracy, saying reforms could be introduced in the next stage.

Gilani said members of the two election commissions should be professional, experts and talented individuals. He stressed there was no alternative to elections, which he said was the only way to determine the country’s future.

The political parties’ coordinative council spokesman said the unity government had come to power through people’s vote and it should fulfill wishes and aspirations of the people. He suggested the government should not give privileges to a particular segment of the society.

Earlier, the two election bodies had welcomed the Wolesi Jirga’s decision to reject presidential decrees seeking amendments to the electoral law and regime and called for committees created under legislative decrees to be dissolved.

Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) Chief Abdul Sattar Saadat had said committees created in compliance with presidential decrees should immediately stop functioning because the decrees had been rejected by parliament and their existence was illegal.

While Independent Election Commission (IEC) chief Yousuf Nuristani had said the schedule for parliamentary and district council elections would be announced next week and no foreign or local organization would be allowed to interfere in the county’s electoral process.

Nuristani had said the IEC was fully prepared to conduct the elections and announce a schedule.

But Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Abdullah Abdullah on Thursday said next year’s parliamentary and district council elections would be managed by “a new election commission: and stressed that mistakes in previous elections would not repeated.

 

Fuente: http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2016/01/10/hold-elections-reforms-gilani-tells...

Autor: Javed Hamim Kakar