Parliamentary board vote: No candidate elected

KABUL): Lawmakers Haji Zahir Qadir and Mirwais Yasini on Saturday failed to receive 50 percent of the vote necessary for election as first vice-chairman of the parliamentary board.

Yasini obtained 99 votes and Qadir 90 from the present 221 house members, falling short of the required 111 mark, 50 percent.

Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi said the votes cast included eight blank and 23 invalid and that outspoken parliamentarian Ramazan Bashardost did not participate in the voting.

He announced the parliamentary board’s elections did not produce any electee, ruling Qadir and Yasini could not run for the post again.

MPs Ahmad Shah Ramazan secured 27 votes, Nimatullah 70, Amanullah Piman 61 and Asadullah Sadat 36 in the run for the board’s second-vice chairman. All failed to secure the required number of votes.

Farhad Azimi from Balkh, Nilofar Ibrahimi from Badakhshan and Nazifa Zaki from Kabul were voted for the post of deputy secretary, but they too fell short the 111 mark.

Under Article 87 of the Constitution, both houses of parliament elect from amongst their members a chairman of the administrative board, with first and second deputy speakers and two lawmakers as the board’s secretary and deputy for a year.

myn/ma

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