The Wolesi Jirga, the Lower House of the Parliament, summoned members of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) to brief them on certain issues in the electoral body; however, the commissioners ignored to appear at the Saturday session of the house.
This move faced reaction by the lawmakers as they called it violation of the law.
Challenges on the way of the upcoming parliamentary and districts councils’ elections, alleged corruption in the commission and alleged rift among the IEC officials were the main issues based on which the election commissioners were summoned.
Only the head of the IEC secretariat and his deputies appeared at the Wolesi Jirga’s session while the IEC chairman and other commissioners are not present,” said Abdul Qadir Zazai Watandost, the Wolesi Jirga secretary, said.
“We will send a letter to the president because such a move is against the parliament and the representatives of the people and against the law and is not acceptable,” the Wolesi Jirga Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi said.
Head of the IEC secretariat Imam Mohammad Warimach argued that based on the law, the MPs does not have the right to summon election commissioners.
“From legal prospective, the IEC has no obligation to respond to MPs, but from ethic perspective it is better to come to the House of Representatives and respond to their questions,” Warimach told TOLOnews.
Other MPs meanwhile said the election commissioners ‘does not have the required skills to carry on the tasks of the electoral body and hold the upcoming parliamentary and district councils’ elections.
“Holding election is not possible by having the commissioners who are accused of corruption,” said Lalai Hamidzai, an MP from Kandahar.
However, Warimach said the elections will be held based on the schedule and that there is no challenge on the way of the process.
The MPs meanwhile discussed the TOLOnews findings on alleged corruption and embezzlement by the Wolesi Jirga speaker and the head of the parliament’s secretariat.
Some lawmakers said the issue should be closed “because further discussions in this respect will damage the reputation of the MPs and the parliament”.
“Please stop accusing each other and creating distrusts; we have become media’s headlines,” Fawzia Kofi, an MP from Badakhshan, said.
“They are elite characters of the country and have claimed this position by people’s votes, not through corruption,” MP Abbas Ibrahimzada said.
Ibrahimi meanwhile said the allegations against him and the head of the Wolesi Jirga secretariat “is a small issue” and that the investigation of the allegations by the Central Audit Office is against the law.
“I think the topic we are discussing today is a minor issue,” said Ibrahimi.