KABUL - Nader Mohseni, the Secretary of the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), on Wednesday said that cases involving criminal accusations against candidates in the upcoming elections required further assessment and would be reviewed in the courts.

According to Mohseni, complaints involving claims of land grabbing and human rights violations have been filed against Presidential and Provincial Council candidates.

"The legal and judicial organs should decide on these cases, while some others are still being processed," he said.

In the lead-up to the April elections, which could be the first democratic transition of Presidential power in Afghan history, concerns about candidates with blemished records has been a focal issues. In Afghan and foreign media alike, it has been indicated that a number of Presidential candidates are suspected to have been involved in war crimes and other human rights related abuses during the civil war in the 1990s.

Although the formal complaints review process ended in November, the ECC is expected to receive and process complaints against candidates all the way up until the vote on April 5. The IEC has said that it will not take action against any candidate until the courts have reviewed the cases.

Election officials declined to provide any further details about the complaints they have received.

Mohseni also took the opportunity on Wednesday to caution candidates against early campaigning, which would defy the IEC's stipulation that campaigning must be confined to the designated two-month period beginning in early February and ending just before the election day.

"The candidates should avoid any kind of campaigning before the legal period set for election campaigns," Mohseni said. "Some candidates organize gatherings and trips, but we warn them to conduct themselves according to the laws, otherwise, the ECC will take legal action against them."

Meanwhile, the ECC began a training program on Wednesday for the selection of Provincial Commissioners. Up to 102 Commissioners are expected to be selected. (Tolo News)