The Independence Election Commission (IEC) has hinted at the possibility of postponing the upcoming presidential election slated for April 2019. Although IEC has announced that final decision was yet to be made on the issue, the poll will perhaps be delayed by three months, according to the commission, better prepare and implement necessary electoral reforms. An election commissioner has insisted they need more time to make necessary arrangements and bring reforms in the electoral system. Meanwhile, the international community has so far refused to provide budget to electoral bodies for the election. A spokesperson for IEC has said they have submitted a draft budget to international donors, but it has been rejected.
The potential delay in election comes as media reports recently surfaced that the United States was considering to push Afghan government to postpone the presidential election to allow for a peace deal with the Taliban. If the vote is delayed for a lofty national goal such as peace, it is a welcome step. For Afghan people, peace is a more important priority than election. The government also should not oppose delay in election in order to accomplish the top national priority. If the ongoing peace talks fail for its opposition to the postponement of election, it will place a major historic blame on its shoulders.
Another possibility for delaying the presidential election is electoral reforms. When the National Unity Government could not succeed or did not wish to revamp the electoral system in four years and a half, it is useless to expect such a government and its leaders to implement electoral reforms in the remaining couple of months. The postponement of election under the pretext of electoral reforms is not justifiable because there is no political will in the government leadership for such reforms, and its absence is easily noticeable in government’s actions with regard to election.
If the presidential election is delayed for success of peace talks with the Taliban, the people will support it. However, if election, as a very important national process, is delayed in the name of electoral reforms but in fact for the sake of personal interests, it will do more harm than good to the government.
