Committee Receives 57 Applications for IEC Post

AVA-The Election Commissions Selection Committee has received applications from 57 applicants for membership of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), officials said.

The commission will send three names from the list of applicants to President Ashraf Ghani within the next few days, Jawed Rasheedi, head of the committee told a meeting on Saturday.

He said the deadline for accepting the applications ended last week on Wednesday.

“In line with the law and election regulations, the selection committee will try to introduce three candidates, who have the best specifications, to the Presidential Palace,” he said.

Members of the committee admitted that the resuming their activities is “illegal” but said senior government officials have prioritized political considerations instead of legal aspects in the electoral process.

“The problem is that political considerations are in priority and, as you know, the electoral process is more political than technical or legal,” said Abdullah Shefaee, member of the selection committee.

Sources say some former and incumbent government officials have applied for the IEC membership. The selection committee did not elaborate on the details or the names.

The IEC spokesman Abdulbadi Sayyad said the chairman and head of the secretariat of the institution would be elected once the new member of the commission is introduced.

“We will hold the administrative board election and will elect the (IEC) chairman and two deputies. Another issue which has slowed down our activities is the appointment process, but we will resolve this as soon as possible,” he said.

Last year in November, President Ashraf Ghani fired his own hand-picked Independent Election Commission Chairman, Najibullah Ahmadzai.

The IEC last year announced it would hold the upcoming parliamentary and district councils’ elections this year in July. However, a few days ago, the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission said in a letter that the date has changed to September this year.