Nuristani says he resigned of own free will

KABUL (Pajhwok): Former election commission chief Ahmad Yousaf Nuristani on Monday said he had resigned of his own free will, but called the Electoral Reform Commission as “illegal.”

Nuristani, who resigned as the Independent Election Commission head, warned at a press conference here that splitting the electoral bodies between the two government leaders would bring to a halt the commission’s activities.

Nursitani on Saturday submitted his resignation to the president who accepted his resignation. The Presidential Palace in a statement said Nuristani had resigned realizing the political situation and in the interest of the country.

But some believed Nuristani had been forced into stepping down.

However, Nuristani said he resigned of his own will without any internal or external pressure, adding his resignation might mitigate pressure on the government and the election commission.

“Our politicians say electoral fraud will continue until the electoral regime is reformed and foreign donors also say they will stop their financial aid if there are no reforms. So I decided if the pressures can be reduced with my resignation, I am ready to do so,” he said.

He said he resigned for the sake of prosperity and stability of Afghanistan while looking at the current political and social situation of the country.

He said all the commissioners on the AIEC believed the electoral reform commission had been illegally established and that reforms in the electoral system was the authority of IEC commissioners.

All suggestions the reform commission had submitted to the president matched those of IEC suggestions, but some of them had been amended, Nuristani said.

He said fraud could be prevented if electronic ID cards were issued and the number of polling stations was balanced and exact figures of voters were known.

He said the unity government leaders should respect to the independence of the election commission for the sake of impartial decisions.  “If the seats of the commission are distributed among the leaders, all activities of the commission would come to a halt.”

myn/ma

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