8 Farah officials fined over electoral fraud

FARAH CITY (Pajhwok): Two district police chiefs and six Independent Election Commission (IEC) workers have been fined for committing fraud during the April 5 elections in western Farah province, an official said Sunday.

Those fined included police chiefs for Khak-i-Safed and Pusht Koh districts, who had been deployed for security of polling stations in their respective towns.

The six IEC’s workers had been tasked on the election day to monitor the voting process, regional Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) chief Ali Ahmad Nahzat told Pajhwok Afghan News.

However, he did not reveal the nature of fraud the six persons had committed. Another IECC official, wishing not to be named, said the police chiefs had been fined 12,000 afghanis and the IEC observers 3,000 afghanis each.

He said the individuals had been accused of their involvement in vote rigging. While, Nahzat said the individuals were fined after a thorough investigation into the charges against them.

Without giving details, he said one of the district police chiefs was charged on two counts because he had been involved in two separate fraud incidents during the elections.

So far 3,500 complaints about the April 5 elections have been recorded with the IECC office.

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