Sayyad says political parties will be responsible for potential delay in election

Gulajan Abdulbadi Sayyad, head of Independent Election Commission (IEC), on Sunday criticized political parties for closing IEC offices in parts of the country, calling on them to put an end to the practice as IEC claims that security forces reopened their offices in Herat and Kandahar, but the coalition says Kandahar office is still closed.
Sayyad called on the coalition of political parties to instead share their list of demands with the commission so that a legal solution can be sought.
Speaking at a press conference in Kabul, Sayyad said political parties and observer institutions are not attending IEC meetings nor are they cooperating with the commission – yet they constantly level criticism at the IEC.
“The culture of closing offices must end, and those who are closing offices in the capital and then in the provinces will be responsible for any possible delay in the elections, they do not want the elections to be held on time,” said Sayyad.
“We request all of them to share their legal demands in the framework of the law with the commission and to find a legitimate solution for their concerns regarding the transparency of the elections,” Sayyad added.
The IEC chief warned that if elections are further delayed the body will not be responsible.
“And those who are closing the offices will be responsible for a delay in the elections,” said Sayyad.
The commission said that the closing of offices is not acceptable to the commission.
“Closing of IEC offices in such a sensitive time means the delay of elections which is not acceptable to the commission,” Sayyad warned.
This comes after a number of major political parties closed the offices of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) in Balkh, Kandahar and Herat provinces on Saturday after the government and the election body failed to meet their demands for change in electoral system to guarantee transparency in the democratic process. The political parties that operate under the Grand National Coalition have threatened to also shut IEC offices in Nangarhar, Kunduz, Bamiyan, Panjsher, Faryab and Jawzjan provinces if their demands are not met.
The political parties have set deadlines for government a few times for their demands to be addressed.
Observer institutions and political parties are not backing the IEC commission, instead of cooperating with IEC they choose to criticize and the government also not taking serious steps on time,” Sayyad said
“We ask for serious steps in order to hold elections on time,” Sayyad added.
Last month, President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree on elections to prevent any interference in the election process and to ensure the process is held in a fair and transparent environment.
IEC Chief Sayyad meanwhile also raised his concern over security of parliamentary candidates.
“The security of the candidates is very important for us and the government must pay serious attention to their security,” Sayyad said.
“We also ask international forces to cooperate with our security forces regarding the transfer of sensitive and non-sensitive materials in order to deliver them to the election centers on time,” Sayyad said.
He reiterated that the commission is committed to holding elections on time.
“The commission is trying day and night to hold elections on time and we ask the nation to support the commission,” Sayyad said.
Sayyad also said IEC staff members who are involved in fraud and violations of laws will be handed over to the law enforcement.
“We are committed, and we are investigating if any of our staff are involved in any type of fraud or violation (and if so they will) soon will be introduced to the attorney general’s office.” Sayyad said.