<p class="rteleft"><a href="/en/afganistan/kabul" class="glossify-link">KABUL</a> (Pajhwok): The Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) on Sunday said complaint registration faced problems because the list of commissioners for provinces shared with the president had not been approved so far.</p>
<p class="rteleft">Abdul Aziz Aryayi, IECC head, told a press conference here that the commission shared a list of 102 individuals with the Presidential Palace one month and a half months ago, but the president was yet to approve it.</p>
<p class="rteleft">He said the 102 individuals had found their way to provincial commissioner posts after qualifying an open competition.</p>
<p class="rteleft">He said not approving the list had confronted the IECC activities with problems. “It is a matter of concern for us, it has created a serious challenge in legal handling of complaints.”</p>
<p class="rteleft">Aryayi criticized the Presidential Palace and said: “If the Presidential Palace believes in a democratic system, then it should not weaken the electoral institutes and instead try to strengthen them.”</p>
<p class="rteleft">He said the IECC was active in all provinces, collecting complaints regarding election affairs particularly about the announcement of initial list of candidates.</p>
<p class="rteleft">To a question about independence of the IECC commissioners, he said: “If the list we shared with the Presidential Palace is not logical to the palace, then it means we are independent and the palace has no an influence on us.”</p>
<p class="rteleft">Humaira Haqmal, deputy head of the IECC, also criticized the president for not approving the commissioners’ list and said delayed list approval meant more problems for the commission.</p>
<p class="rteleft">She said despite struggling with major problems due to the Presidential Palace’s inattention the commission continued to collect electoral complaints in all provinces of the country.</p>
<p class="rteleft">mds/ma</p>
