KABUL - The Electoral Reform Commission (ERC) on Sunday announced that preliminary reforms needed to pave the way for a new round of parliamentary elections will be in place within two months. Yet ERC officials have also reaffirmed their commitment to bringing broader, fundamental reforms to the country's electoral system.

Meanwhile, a number of election monitoring groups have expressed doubts about the ERC's capacity to implement the necessary and fundamental reforms they have clamored for since the tumultuous, fraud-filled 2014 presidential election.

The ERC has been given three months by President Ashraf Ghani to get reforms in place. "If this timeline is extended, naturally we will work on three programs; a short term program for holding the parliamentary elections, a medium term program for holding the presidential elections and a long term program for future elections in Afghanistan," ERC Deputy Chair Sediqullah Tawhidi said on Sunday.

Although the ERC has not been charged with selecting the date for parliamentary elections, which are already two months delayed, it's officials have hinted at the likely timeframe for the elections by pledging to undertake the necessary reforms within two months. "We need to consider emergency reforms for Wolesi Jirga elections and to reform the election law and job descriptions of the election management bodies," Tawhidi said, going into greater detail about what exactly the commission plans to do.

Still, after months of delay in the formation of the commission, the ERC continues to lack a work space of its own, and has been operating out of the office of Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

"Foreign obstructions, political teams and politicians are among the challenges that could undermine implementation of necessary reforms in the country's electoral system," head of Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA) Naeem Ayoubzada said.

Many commentators remain skeptical of the ERC. "As long as the work of the commission is incomplete or is delayed, then it will have negative impacts on the elections," civil society activist Jandad Spinghar said. (Tolonews)