The government is in talks with donor countries about introducing an e-voting system in the country, the office of the CEO Abdullah Abdullah announced on Wednesday, saying the move will help to ensure credibility and transparency of future elections.

Meanwhile, the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) has said there is nothing stopping the launch of such a system and called on donors and relevant departments to take steps to fund the process.

According to the ECC, an e-voting system can help ensure transparency and fairness in elections and it could prevent voter fraud.

“There are no problems about digitalizing the electoral system except financial issues; we can digitalize this process to boost transparency and prevent certain individuals from rigging the elections,” said Abdul Aziz Aryayee, ECC chief.

In the meantime, there is speculation that the UN and donor countries are quite concerned about launching an e-voting system in Afghanistan as there is only one institution that could oversee the digitalization process. An issue which donors and the UN apparently argue could pave the way for corruption and fraud in the elections.

“We request that donor institutions do not stop us from moving toward globalization and help us to digitalize the election system,” said Naeem Ayoubzada, chairman of the Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA).

But, government officials insist that with a digital system in place, all challenges in the way of transparent elections will be removed.

“Digitalization of the voter list and the cancellation of old voting cards and launching an e-voting system would take about a year,” said Sadiq Mudabir, former chief of Office of the Administrative Affairs and Council of Ministers Secretariat.
 
Electoral experts believe that with the implementation of an e-voting system in the country, the election management bodies of the country will be able to announce the election results within three days of the nation having voted.

Fraud and vote rigging during the elections has been among the major concerns of the Afghan people in the past. Allegations of fraud during the 2014 presidential elections severely eroded trust in the election process for Afghans.