KABUL - Nadir Mohseni, a member and spokesman of the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), on Sunday said that the Commission is prepared to begin vetting the documents of the Presidential and Provincial candidates on Monday, a day after the 22-day window for registration ended.

With the nomination filing process concluded at 4:00pm on Sunday, the next important date is when the preliminary list of ECC-approved candidates is expected to be announced by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) on October 19.

The ECC's evaluation process will involve in-depth examination of candidate's registration materials as well as their backgrounds.

Mr. Mohseni warned candidates that any links with insurgent groups would automatically disqualify them from running in the elections. The same would go for criminal records.

"One of the conditions is that no candidate should have a criminal record. If a candidate is found to have criminal record, he/she cannot contest the elections," he said.

In general, any violation of the Election Laws would be forwarded to judicial bodies for investigation and adjudication.

Campaigning for the elections is scheduled to start on February 2 and continue until March 31. The roughly two-month campaigning period is shorter than in past years, as mandated by the new Election Laws passed in July.

The ECC has warned candidates to refrain from campaigning early, as it would be considered as a violation and could lead to their disqualification from running in the elections. (Tolo News)