President Karzai has expressed his opposition to inclusion of foreign members in the Election Complaints Commission. While talking at the press conference with NATO Chief Fogh Rasmussen in Kabul on Thursday, he said it would be against national sovereignty to include foreign commissioners or advisers in the ECC.
Previously there have been three or two foreign members of the ECC. Karzai says it was need of the time when we needed international support in the process, but now independence and law enforcement transition makes it a national matter. He suggested foreigners can observe the election process, but not be involved in the commission.
The question is, why there has been the need of international members in ECC in the first place? It is because of our lack of capacity, transitional process and lack of trust by political opposition on the current administration. When we talk of sovereignty and independence, there should not be any technical, financial and security support needed from the international community.
Donor countries will not pour their millions of dollars for our elections to be conducted, but not having a stake in the process to ensure transparency and lack of fraud. The issues related to the last fraud-marred presidential elections make another strong reason to avoid controversy and include neutral independent outsiders in the ECC.
The commissioners could be appointed by UN with consultation. President's opposition is in contrary with demands of opposition parties and irrational. It will cause more problems with absence of foreign members of the ECC. Already some opposition groups accuse allegiance of some of the current commissioners of Independent Election Commission appointed by the President.
President Karzai should start a process of consultation with opposition groups on the issues related to electoral laws and clarity of institutional roles. Going solo on these issues, that also by an incumbent president with last term in office, will cause serious controversies.
Raising the question of independence and sovereignty makes sense only when we will be able to conduct our elections without the financial and security support of the international community, which is impossible at least with the coming presidential, parliamentary and provincial council elections.
When opposition groups, being part of the system and stakeholders, demand inclusion of foreign commissioners in ECC, it should not contradict with matters of sovereignty. It is a domestic demand, not an international imposition. The current administrators need to pay heed to calls from political stakeholders of the post-2001 process.