Nearly 10,000 Election Complaints Rejected: IECC

Zuhra Bayan Shinwari, head of the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC), at a Tuesday press conference said that 9,866 complaints out of 16,545 complaints have been rejected for lack of evidence.

“Now we are moving into the recount process, and, so far, there have been no serious problems between the two commissions,” Shinwari said.

The votes of 47 polling stations have been invalidated and 75 people have been fined over alleged involvement  in fraudulent behavior. 71 Independent Election Commission (IEC) employees have been fired, according to IECC officials.

Mohammad Qasim Ilyasi, a commissioner and spokesman for IECC, said: “We think it is too early to disclose the names of those who have been referred to the Attorney General.”

After today’s announcement, the electoral campaign teams will have three days to appeal the IECC’s rejection of the campaign team’s complaints.

The polling stations designated for recount are in 19 provinces, IECC spokesman Mohammad Qasim Elyasi said.

He said the commission received 381 follow-up complaints on its initial decisions about the assessed complaints.

Nangarhar, with 1,580, has the highest number of polling stations to be recounted, according to the IECC. There will be recounts in Kunar, with 248 polling stations, Paktia with 386 polling stations, Nimroz with 177, and Helmand with 150 polling stations.