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Abdullah insists on cleaning up electoral system

Abdullah insists on cleaning up electoral system

author avatar
13 Mar 2015 - 15:17
Abdullah insists on cleaning up electoral system
author avatar
13 Mar 2015 - 15:17

KABUL (Pajhwok) Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah on Friday said the national unity government had been established on the basis of a clear agreement on reforming the election panels.

The people could not be satisfied without cleaning up the electoral system, the former foreign minister told a gathering in Kabul. The public meeting marked the 20th death anniversary of Abdul Ali Mazari.

He believed the long-suffering Afghans had finally got the opportunity to come out of their miserable situation — a legacy of decades of conflict and internecine bickering.

“Transparent elections have been a key demand of the Afghan people. One of the fundamental issues in the formation of the national unity government was to reform the electoral system,” the CEO observed.

Let me say in categorical terms that people won’t accept anything short of transparent polls and thoroughgoing reforms in the electoral institutions, he reiterated.

Following the controversial presidential election in June 2014, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah agreed on installing the government of national unity and bringing improvements to the election commissions.

President Ashraf Ghani had promised to create a reform panel, but seven months on, there is no sign of such a commission being constituted.

Deputy CEO Mohammad Mohaqiq also voiced his concern over the delay in forming the proposed commission and introducing the electoral reforms.

Dr Abdullah wants the problem (electoral reform) to be resolved and the president is also ready to issue a decree for constituting the panel and ensuring fair elections in the future, he noted.

Mohaqiq stressed the electoral system must be fixed in line with expectations of the nation and political forces so as to make poll results credible and acceptable.

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