The Independent Election Commission (IEC) released details on Sunday about voting centers and sites that will be used for the presidential runoff on June 14.
Based on the list provided Sunday, 6,423 voting centers, connected to 23,313 sites, will be open on Election Day. Similar to the first round, 748 voting centers will remain closed.
Abdul Rahim Ayoubi, the leader of Hizb-e-Milate Mutahed, announced an endorsement of presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai at a gathering in Kabul on Sunday.
Abdul Rahim Ayoubi, who is also a member the Lower House, also criticized Ghani's runoff rival, Abdullah Abdullah.
The endorsement comes at a critical time in the election process, as runoff campaigning peaks just two weeks before Election Day on June 14. And it joins a series of high-profile endorsements that Ghani has received since the end of the first round.
The Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that 3,000 new National Army soldiers have been trained and assigned to providing security for the upcoming presidential runoff election on June 14.
Speaking to his supporters in Herat, presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai kicked-off an event on Friday during one of his first campaign trips to the western province by discussing national unity, equality and growth.
Ashraf Ghani, the former Finance Minister and World Bank economist, said that upon his victory in the June 14 runoff against Abdullah Abdullah, all Afghans would be treated equally in eyes of the law.
Afghan youth party, Etelaf-e-Meli Nahj Naween of Afghanistan, on Friday at an event in Kabul announced their endorsement of presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai for the June 14 runoff.
With only a couple weeks left before the historic vote that will determine President Hamid Karzai’s successor, candidates who lost in the first round, political figures, political parties and MPs have begun throwing their weight being Ashraf Ghani or his runoff rival, Abdullah Abdullah.
Election observers have suggested their will be a heightened chance of fraud during the presidential runoff now that the Independent Election Commission (IEC) has announced that it will add some 3,000 new voting sites and five percent more ballots per province for the second round in June.
Although officials maintain more available polling places on Election Day will necessarily mean more Afghans can participate, the head of Afghanistan Democracy Watch, Zekria Barekzai, said there would be no observers at many of the new sites planned by the IEC.
The Election Watch Organization of Afghanistan (EWA) on Monday warned that if the electoral bodies do not focus on the deficiencies and leakages witnessed in the first round of the elections, the June 14 runoff will face major challenges.
In a recent report, EWA submitted a number of recommendations as to how the electoral bodies should change before the runoff. Among others suggestions, the EWA asked the electoral bodies to focus on identification of suspicious sites and to ensure the distribution of sufficient ballot papers.
While speaking to 300,000 supporters in Jaghori district of Ghazni province on Thursday, presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah promised to turn Jaghori into its own province if elected in June.
As the June 14 runoff vote approaches, Abdullah and his rival Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai have stepped-up their campaign activities, looking to grab any additional support they can before Afghans head to the polls. This year’s election will mark Afghanistan’s first democratic transition in modern history.
Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai’s presidential campaign team has indicated a desire to see reconciliation with insurgent groups move forward and a openness to a possible power-sharing arrangement down the line.
President Karzai’s government has failed to achieve peace with the Taliban militancy, which has waged war against the central, western-backed Kabul government since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. Not for a lack of trying, though, the Karzai government has unsuccessfully sought out peace talks with Taliban leaders for years.
Media Commission of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) asked media outlets to stay responsible and neutral during the coverage of the election process. In a joint meeting with representatives of media outlets on Wednesday, head of the IEC Media Commission listed a number of media violations committed during the elections. He asserted that media outlets that violate the election code of conduct would face legal action.
A number of political party leaders and members of the Pakistani Parliament gathered in Islamabad on Wednesday to voice support for the Afghan presidential election and urge their government not to aid insurgents in their attempts to derail Afghanistan’s democratic process.
Former Afghan intelligence chief and leader of Green Trend movement Amrullah Saleh on Monday endorsed the leading presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah for the June 14 runoff.
Speaking in an event in Kabul, Mr Saleh said he supported Abdullah and asking for a “free from prejudice and corruption government”, if he is elected.
Abdullah welcomed the endorsement and said he would fulfill the promises he made during the campaign. He also asked the people for huge turnout on June 14 polling.
Runoff candidate Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahamdzai on Tuesday took time to explain his higher education policy to a number of students in Kabul. Ghani pledged to change the management system of universities and eliminate discrimination and corruption in education.
In a conference on gender and elections, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Monday warned to disclose the names of government officials involved in meddling in the first round of the elections. IEC had sent a list of the officials' names to the Presidential Palace; however, it has received no responses. The commission intends to disclose the list to the media if the Presidential Palace does not take any initiative.
The Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) on Tuesday reported that open investigation of complaints in regard to the provincial council will start next week. The commission announced that it would share the final results with the Independent Election Commission (IEC) on June 12--instead of the initial expected date of June 4.
“We will start assessing the complaints next week,” ECC Secretary Nadir Mohseni said. "We will assess each zone separately and share the final results with IEC on June 12."
On the first day of runoff campaigning Former Afghan president Sibghatollah Mujadidi announced his support for presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.
Mujadidi said he had decided that the other candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, was not the right person for the position of president.
“For days and nights I was wondering which candidate to support, so after collecting information and consideration, I decided to support Ashraf Ghani,” he said on Thursday.
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai on Thursday began his campaign for the runoff round of the presidential election, and received an endorsement from Ahmad Zia Masoud.
Ghani said he does not intend to organize as large of a campaign effort as he did in the first round. “This part of the year is the seaons of work and our security forces are very busy, so we have decided not to conduct big gatherings, we only want one day to come on the ballot boxes,” Ashraf Ghani said on Thursday.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Thursday said that the presidential candidates must respect the election procedures and rules during the runoff campaigns. IEC added that any violations of the election rules would lead to legal action.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) Provincial Chief of Helmand, Qudratollah Naqshbandi, on Wednesday said that the commission intends to open 80 additional polling sites in southern Helmand province.
“The election commission has directed its provincial headquarter in Helmand to ensure the opening of 80 more polling sites during the election runoff,” Naqshbandi said.
In addition, Naqshbandi confirmed the involvement of some IEC staff in riggings and frauds in the first round and reiterated that no one would be allowed to commit fraud in the runoff.
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