The head of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Tadamichi Yamamoto on Thursday said it is very easy to be skeptical about the elections, but what is important is that the Afghan people want their votes to be counted and respected. 

He called on Afghan political parties to support the election process as it constitutes one of the fundamental aspirations of the people of Afghanistan. 

“It is very easy to be skeptical, but I think we should take this very seriously. Afghan people have come out in nine million numbers. It is a significant expression of the desire of the Afghan people to say that they would like their votes to be counted. We should respect this desire of Afghan people,” said Yamamoto. 

But, a number of political parties warned that they could resort to any number of activities unless the voter registration process is restarted. 

Jamiat-e-Islami party of Afghanistan and Junbish-e-Milli Islami Afghanistan, Hizb-e-Islami and Hizb-e-Wahdat-e-eIslami are among the mainstream Afghan political parties which have warned that the country another crisis will emerge if fake ID cards are used in the elections.

These parties believe almost fifty percent of those registered are ghost voters. 

They have suggested that the voter registration process must be restarted and that a biometric system is implemented.

Supporters of Junbish-e-i-Milli Islami have also closed down five site offices of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) - in Faryab, Jawzjan, Takhar, Sar-e-Pul and Samangan provinces. 

“Extralegal actions are creating a crisis and it impacts on the remaining portion of the process. We have the presidential elections after the parliamentary elections, if we fail to implement the process in an appropriate way, certainly there would be another crisis ahead for Afghanistan and such an issue would have serious implications on Afghanistan’s political stability,” said Bashir Ahmad Tayyanj, the spokesman for Junbish-e-Milli Islami Afghanistan.  

Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on Tuesday said the voter registration process was being rigged and that there are more than five million ghost voters.  

Hekmatyar rejected the IEC’s tally that almost nine million people have registered to vote in the October parliamentary and district council elections.

“The process which is ongoing is facing large-scale fraud, if it carries on in the same manner, the consequences will be very harmful and there will be a major outcry,” said Hekmatyar.

Hekmatyar suggested that in order for the elections to be fair and transparent a biometric system needs to be rolled out for the voter registration process.

The Election Support Group of Ambassadors (ESG) meanwhile issued a statement on Tuesday stating they were aware of complaints about irregularities regarding the issue of Tazkeras (IDs) and voter registration documents but noted “this was the first time in Afghan history these elections are Afghan-led and Afghan-owned”.

“We recognize the challenges and acknowledge the progress which has been achieved. Providing the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the government take the necessary actions on time, for the first time, there will be a single list of all eligible voters, as well as specific polling station-based voter lists,” said the ESG.