UN intervention in poll process beneficial: MPs

KABUL on Sunday welcomed the delay in announcing partial results from the June 14 presidential runoff election and endorsed presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah’s suggestion that the UN should intervene into the election process.

President Hamid Karzai has also backed Abdullah’s call for UN’s intervention, saying he was not only agreed with the suggestion but also counted it a positive step for tackling the political impasse.

Abdullah dropped out of the election process over allegations of mass fraud, which he blamed on his rival candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai’s team, Karzai and his advisors.

Abdullah has called for a halt to the vote-tallying process. The Independent Election Commission yesterday confirmed the delay in announcing partial results, citing ongoing investigation into fraud allegations and other problems.

The UN secretary-general’s deputy special representative for Afghanistan, Nicholas Haysom, on Saturday announced a delay in the release of partial results.

Haysom told reporters in Kabul the move was aimed to build confidence between the two presidential candidates.

The Meshrano Jirga or upper house on Sunday discussed the deadlock in the electoral process.  Hamdullah Munib from central Parwan province told the house that he welcomed the delay in announcing partial results.

“As the results have been postponed, we will welcome the UN’s inclusion in the process because we want transparent results,” he said, asking the two electoral panels to maintain impartiality.

The lawmaker stressed the preliminary results should be announced as scheduled.

The preliminary results are expected on July 2 and the final results on July 22.

Senator Lailuma Ahadi from central Panjsher province hoped the UN would be able to end the political stalemate.

Her colleague from southern Ghazni province Abdul Baqi Baryal said they welcomed the delay in declaring partial results keeping in view the present circumstances.

He said the UN should ensure that the votes of Afghans were given due respect. “We should join hands to resolve the ongoing political crisis,” he urged lawmakers.

Senate chairman Fazl Hadi Muslimyar informed the house that he had a meeting with a UN delegation led by the world body’s special representative for Afghanistan on Sunday morning.

He said he had called on the UN delegation to play the role of an observer and let the Afghans decide on their own.

He said no prediction should be made until the results were announced because such predictions created problems for the Afghans.

ma

Visits: 0