Analysts and international organizations that observed the recent presidential election in Afghanistan have concluded that no systematic fraud took place on the Election Day. This is great improvement for Afghanistan, albeit electoral frauds that are considered ‘minor’ here are categorized as ‘massive’ in developed countries of the world.

Based on the results announced by Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission, none of the eight presidential contenders touched the winning mark which is obtaining more than 50% of total votes. The willingness of two leading candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai to contest for the presidential seat in the second round indicates they also do not think any organized fraud took place on 5th April.

Systematic electoral frauds might not have taken place but solid evidences are publically available that indicate severe cases of ballot stuffing and other kinds of riggings. The way IEC and Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) have been dealing with cases of frauds on the Election Day is absolutely not satisfactory.

Officials in these two electoral bodies, despite creating much fuss, have not been able to take action against those involved in messing with the votes of the people – the people who defied serious threats to their lives but went to the polling station just for the sake of playing a positive role in leading their country towards a better future.

In the first round of election, certain high ranking government officials were openly active in supporting a particular candidate. After the election, the IEC prepared a list of government officials who were either directly involved in ballot stuffing or forced the voters to vote fora specific candidate on the Election Day. Instead of making the names of those officials public through media, the IEC sent the list to the presidential palace – a very unreasonable step!

Now, the list is neither with the president’s office nor with the election commission. After weeks, the IEC says its letter has disappeared, although as an official rule a back-up copy of all letters are maintained by all offices. This indicates that the IEC and the government are deliberately trying to conceal the name of authorities who acted against their duties and responsibilities by meddling in the election.

Due to shortage of ballot papers, thousands of people were deprived from voting in the first round of election despite waiting for hours in queues and having voter cards. The IEC has not come up with any solid reason for this crucial issue.

Such issues cause one doubt the autonomy of electoral bodies. There is no guarantee that incidents of frauds and irregularities will not repeat in the second round of election. Both commissions seem not to be able to prevent electoral frauds or deal with electoral complaints in a proper and satisfactory manner. As the second round of election will be held in about two weeks, the country must be ready for any kind scenario.