September 17th, 2010 by Anna

The Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan has called on the Electoral Complaints Commission to “decisively adjudicate all complaints submitted after Saturday’s parliamentary elections.” FEFA election observers reportedly submitted 583 reports of election violations (including candidates using state funds for their campaigns and government representatives illegally supporting candidates) over a period of about five weeks. They also found numerous cases of election-related intimidation, including threats from the Taliban to kill candidates. According to FEFA’s executive director Jandad Spinghar, “[f]ew candidates were sanctioned for electoral offenses, and the candidates the commission did sanction were not the most serious offenders.” Spinghar added that recent incidents of election-related violence demonstrate “policy-makers’ lack of commitment to transitional justice over the past nine years.” FEFA chairman Nader Nadery still sought to reassure voters, and said: “We encourage voters to exercise their political rights, and our observers will be there to watch whether they can do so freely.”

Posted in Afghanistan, Elections, Political Parties, Taliban |