Fair polls not possible sans electronic ID cards

KABUL (Pajhwok): For the sake of transparent future elections, the issuance of electronic identity cards should be started without further delay, the National Council of Journalists (NCJ) said on Saturday.

Hafizullah Barekzai, NCJ director, told journalists in Kabul there was still enough time to issue electronic cards to people ahead of the parliamentary polls to be held next Afghan year.

“There are evidence irregularities had taken place in the previous elections like fraud, bribery, stuffing ballot boxes and selling votes,” he said, adding without electronic identity cards, transparent elections were not possible.

Without naming anyone, Barekzai accused some observer organizations of accepting huge sums of money in bribes against neutrality, saying those purposefully delaying the issuance of the cards were committing treason..

The issuance of electronic ID cards is a joint project of the ministries of interior and communications and IT. The Interior Ministry promised in 2011 to issue electronic ID cards to six million people ahead of the 2014 elections, but failed to do it.

hg/ma