The postponement of presidential election for three months by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) due to pressure from ARG or the Presidential Palace again threw the independence of the commission into question. According to the new decision, the presidential, provincial and district council, as well as Ghazni’s parliamentary elections will be held all together. In a statement, ARG has said that government leaders wanted the election to take place on time, but now that IEC has decided to delay the voting, they “respect the decision of the commission as an independent structure, and promise to extend it an all-out support in holding the election on the new date. However, there are signs that IEC has been forced by ARG to make the decision, because other stakeholders such as political parties and watchdogs did not favor postponing the election.
The delay in election hurts Afghanistan if it is for any reasons other than success of peace talks. If IEC and ARG are using electoral reforms or preparations for election as a pretext, the people will not buy into the rhetoric, because reforms require a political will, something the National Unit Government lacks. Government leaders had enough time to correct the electoral system, thereby reviving public’s trust in election, but they failed to do so. The parliamentary election was delayed for three years for the same lame excuses, still the commission failed to properly manage the election which was marred by unprecedented problems, irregularities and fraud.
Based on the new decision, the presidential, provincial and district council elections will be conducted at the same time. It is very surprising that a commission, which could not properly manage a parliamentary election, decides to hold three elections simultaneously, and that government leaders also uphold the decision solely for the sake of their interests and stay in power. If the delay in presidential election also becomes a practice as was the case with parliamentary election, it can have grave consequences. It creates a power vacuum, and the absence of a legitimate government in such a critical juncture can deal an irreparable blow to the country. The reasons for the election delay have to be elaborated, and whatever they are other than the peace talks can result in a serious political instability, a scenario the election stakeholders should not allow to play out.