Govt trying to curb international role in polls: Abdullah

KABUL on Monday accused the government of trying to limit the international community’s role in elections and other issues in the name of Afghanisation.

“The government is trying to weaken the democracy, rule of law and the role of international observes in next elections by installing individuals of its choice in the election body and legal sector,” the coalition head, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, told a news conference.

He said the government had appointed five new commissioners in the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) without consultation with civil society and political parties. He said the commissioners were loyal to President Hamid Karzai.

The former foreign minister said the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) had recently discussed with the government its role in the government’s affairs as the UN efforts in the country were being limited.

Abdullah said though the credibility of the last two presidential elections were widely damaged by widespread fraud allegations, the government did not take into confidence the relevant organs before appointing the commissioners to ensure transparency and win people’s confidence.

“The sudden appointments show the President wants the next election to be in his favour,” he said.

Abdullah said his party would continue to insist on legitimate and Afghan-led election process with active role of the international community, especially the United Nations.

He asked the international community to ensure that the Independent Election Commission was able to hold fair and free polls.

Abdullah said they had shared a comprehensive plan with other political parties and the international community about transparency in the upcoming elections. The plan would soon be made public, he promised, calling for amendments to the election law and timely distribution of computerised identity cards before the polls.

On the security transition, he said the unclear message from the international community beyond 2014 deadline had left Afghans worried about their future.

“The ongoing peace negotiations are about military issues and the security transfer, but there have been no talks on political issues.”

The Tajik leader said the main demand of the Afghans was peace, but the government efforts at securing that goal remained unsuccessful.

mm/ma/vp

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