EU envoy highlights elections role in Afghan peace process

AVA- Afghanistan is scheduled to hold delayed parliamentary and district councils elections in July this year.

The envoy said that the issue of elections in Afghanistan is of special significance for the EU and reiterated its commitment to support the event.

E-ID program is expected to aid fairer elections after a presidential vote in 2014 that was marred by allegations of mass fraud, but its rollout has been delayed.

The diplomat also emphasized on significance of e-ID program, saying it would help voter turnout. He said that the international community is committed to support Afghanistan over the program.

As part of plan to reform election system, the government changed election commissioners.

However, there have been questions over the reform process. The latest question came against Sayed Hafizullah Hashimi, the newly appointed election commissioners, who was said to have graduated from a university which doesn’t exist.

Arifa Paikar, a spokesman for Higher Education Ministry, said that there was no problem in his certificate.