KABUL - The Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) on Wednesday said the decision to delay announcing the preliminary results of the presidential election would impact the work of the ECC and ultimately when final results can be announced.
The preliminary results delay was announced by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Tuesday night. According to officials, there will be a third partial result announcement on Thursday, and then the preliminary results will be announced on Saturday.
"The delay in announcing preliminary results will make us start our work with a one or two day delay, this will impact the initial timetable of the elections," ECC spokesman Nadir Mohseni said on Wednesday. "Again, I want to stress that what was important for us is the transparency and fairness of the elections."
The ECC was scheduled to start a twenty days complaints investigation process once the preliminary results are announced, but that has now been pushed back two days.
The ECC was initially expected to dispatch the outcomes of its investigations to the IEC on May 8, for a final announcement of election results to be made by May 14, but now it is likely that will all be delayed a few days.
The Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA), one of the country's largest election monitoring groups, has called on the Independent Election Commission (IEC) to explain exactly why the delay has occurred.
"People deserve to have access to adequate information, if they get access to information, I am confident that people will not have a problem with the two day delay," FEFA chief Nadir Naderi said.
In response, IEC Commissioner Sarir Ahamd Barmak said that the delay was only intended to better ensure the transparency of the elections and that there was no political motive behind the move. He said vote recounting and fraud investigations were taking longer than expected.
Former IEC chief Fazel Ahmad Manavi confirmed that the recounting process was as time-demanding as it was meticulous, and would only be good for the elections.
"The election commission is trying to separate fake and valid votes, this is part of IEC's responsibilities, but more responsibility should be on the shoulders of the ECC," Manavi added.
In a press release on Wednesday, the United Nations' special envoy for Afghanistan, Yan Kubis, expressed confidence in the efforts of the election commissions and said he hoped that process continues to be as transparent and credible as it has been. He also added that he hopes the needs of observers and candidates are met. (Tolonews)