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IEC Finalizes Ghazni Election Calendar Despite Backlash

The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC) on Sunday announced that it has finalized the electoral calendar for Ghazni province despite the backlash over the zone-based election plan for the volatile province.

Based on the IEC’s timetable, the voter registration process will be rolled out in the center, in districts and in villages simultaneously. This process will start on July 28 and the process will be wrapped up on August 16.

According to IEC regulations, the parliamentary and district council candidates may file nomination papers from August 1 to August 13.

Some lawmakers from Ghazni have however expressed their unhappiness over the zone-based election plan.

However, the majority of IEC members approved the move.

“Fortunately the majority of the commission approved the election calendar for Ghazni,” said IEC secretary Sayed Hafiz Hashemi.

“It is a violation of the law to announce the split of Ghazni into three constituencies and to put a separate timeline for elections in Ghazni, compared to the other 33 provinces; I think it is against the law and the constitution,” said one Kabul resident, Khuda Dad Irfani.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has reaffirmed its commitment to taking solid security measures around the elections in the province.

But there are concerns that elections might not happen in some regions in the province because of the serious security threat.

“Based on the plan outlined by the election commission, the majority of voter registration centers in the province will be secure although there are one or two districts that are facing problems,” said Najib Danish, MoI spokesman.

“Terrorist groups have made an extra effort to disrupt this process, but we have made a number of achievements despite the disruptions. Over the past 24 hours, at least 200 insurgents were eliminated from the battle zones,” said defense ministry spokesman  Mohammad Radmanish.

On July 6, some lawmakers in Afghanistan’s Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament), political parties and members of civil society institutions blasted the (IEC) for its move to conduct zone-based elections in Ghazni, saying the decision is in contravention of the Constitution and the election law.

They said the controversial decision by the election commission regarding zone-based elections in Ghazni will increase ethnic differences in the province. They in turn called on the Afghan government to intervene and reverse the move.

But the IEC argues that the decision was taken in order to resolve the election deadlock in the volatile province.

The IEC’s recommendation of splitting the multi-ethnic province of Ghazni into three election constituencies comes after all MPs from Ghazni who won seats in the last elections came from the same ethnic group.

Ghazni MPs said earlier recently that in addition to being unconstitutional, the decision is a breach of articles 35, 36, and 71 of the current elections law, and therefore lacks a legal basis.

Article 36 also states that the boundaries of electoral constituencies shall be determined at least 180 days before the election day.

Government meanwhile rejected a plan to reduce electoral constituencies — which would have divided all provinces into constituencies on the basis of the population — in late May on the same legal basis.

The latest move however, comes after Ghazni residents forced the IEC to close its provincial office in May in a bid to get government to either ensure security in the province or reduce the size of election constituencies.

The closure of the IEC’s provincial office did disrupt the voter registration process.

Ghazni has 11 seats in the Wolesi Jirga but based on the IEC’s latest decision, Ghazni has now been divided into three electoral zones. The candidates who secure the majority of votes from these zones will be declared the winners.

According to local officials, at least 14 districts in the province face serious security threats and 15 voter registration centers remain closed in the center of the province.

IEC Finalizes Ghazni Election Calendar Despite Backlash

IEC officials have said that the voter registration process will start in volatile Ghazni province on July 28.

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The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC) on Sunday announced that it has finalized the electoral calendar for Ghazni province despite the backlash over the zone-based election plan for the volatile province.

Based on the IEC’s timetable, the voter registration process will be rolled out in the center, in districts and in villages simultaneously. This process will start on July 28 and the process will be wrapped up on August 16.

According to IEC regulations, the parliamentary and district council candidates may file nomination papers from August 1 to August 13.

Some lawmakers from Ghazni have however expressed their unhappiness over the zone-based election plan.

However, the majority of IEC members approved the move.

“Fortunately the majority of the commission approved the election calendar for Ghazni,” said IEC secretary Sayed Hafiz Hashemi.

“It is a violation of the law to announce the split of Ghazni into three constituencies and to put a separate timeline for elections in Ghazni, compared to the other 33 provinces; I think it is against the law and the constitution,” said one Kabul resident, Khuda Dad Irfani.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has reaffirmed its commitment to taking solid security measures around the elections in the province.

But there are concerns that elections might not happen in some regions in the province because of the serious security threat.

“Based on the plan outlined by the election commission, the majority of voter registration centers in the province will be secure although there are one or two districts that are facing problems,” said Najib Danish, MoI spokesman.

“Terrorist groups have made an extra effort to disrupt this process, but we have made a number of achievements despite the disruptions. Over the past 24 hours, at least 200 insurgents were eliminated from the battle zones,” said defense ministry spokesman  Mohammad Radmanish.

On July 6, some lawmakers in Afghanistan’s Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament), political parties and members of civil society institutions blasted the (IEC) for its move to conduct zone-based elections in Ghazni, saying the decision is in contravention of the Constitution and the election law.

They said the controversial decision by the election commission regarding zone-based elections in Ghazni will increase ethnic differences in the province. They in turn called on the Afghan government to intervene and reverse the move.

But the IEC argues that the decision was taken in order to resolve the election deadlock in the volatile province.

The IEC’s recommendation of splitting the multi-ethnic province of Ghazni into three election constituencies comes after all MPs from Ghazni who won seats in the last elections came from the same ethnic group.

Ghazni MPs said earlier recently that in addition to being unconstitutional, the decision is a breach of articles 35, 36, and 71 of the current elections law, and therefore lacks a legal basis.

Article 36 also states that the boundaries of electoral constituencies shall be determined at least 180 days before the election day.

Government meanwhile rejected a plan to reduce electoral constituencies — which would have divided all provinces into constituencies on the basis of the population — in late May on the same legal basis.

The latest move however, comes after Ghazni residents forced the IEC to close its provincial office in May in a bid to get government to either ensure security in the province or reduce the size of election constituencies.

The closure of the IEC’s provincial office did disrupt the voter registration process.

Ghazni has 11 seats in the Wolesi Jirga but based on the IEC’s latest decision, Ghazni has now been divided into three electoral zones. The candidates who secure the majority of votes from these zones will be declared the winners.

According to local officials, at least 14 districts in the province face serious security threats and 15 voter registration centers remain closed in the center of the province.

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