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8/8/2019 AFGHANISTAN Electoral Complaints Commission 2010 Factsheet 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/afghanistan-electoral-complaints-commission-2010-factsheet-1 1/2
18 September 2010 Wolesi Jirga Election – Factsheet 1
The Board of the 2010 Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC)
Electoral Complaints Commission
The Electoral
Complaints
Commission
(ECC)
is
an
independent body established under Article 61 of
the Electoral Law1 to adjudicate all challenges and
complaints related to the electoral process. The ECC
has the authority to impose sanctions and penalties
if an offence is deemed to have been committed.
ECC commissioners According to the Electoral Law, the ECC must be
established at least 120 days before the election
date by
the
President
in
consultation
with
the
speakers of both the upper (Meshrano Jirga) and
the lower (Wolesi Jirga) houses of Parliament and
the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The present
body is composed of five commissioners (three
national and two international): the Chairperson is
Mr Justice Sayed Murad Sharifi (of the Supreme
Court of Afghanistan) and the additional local
members are Associate Professor Shah Sultan Akifi
(Human Resources Director General at the Wolesi
Jirga)
and
Mr
Ahmad
Zia
Rafat
(of
the
Faculty
of
Journalism at the University of Kabul). The two
international members are Mr Safwat Sidqi of Iraq
and Judge Johann Kriegler of South Africa.
Provincial Electoral Complaints Commissions The ECC has its headquarters in Kabul (ECC HQ) but
it is also represented in each of the 34 provinces of
Afghanistan by a Provincial Electoral Complaints
Commission (PECC). Each PECC has five commis‐
sioners in the six provinces with at least ten seats in
the Wolesi
Jirga,
while
the
PECCs
in
the
remaining
28 provinces each have three commissioners. This
1 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Presidential Decree,
Electoral Law, 18 February 2010.
means that for the 2010 Wolesi Jirga elections there
will be 114 Provincial Electoral Complaints
Commissioners throughout Afghanistan. The PECC
commissioners are assisted in their work by legal
and investigative specialists who receive and inves‐
tigate complaints.
Jurisdiction of ECC and PECCs The ECC and PECCs have jurisdiction to adjudicate
challenges to candidate and voter eligibility and
complaints arising from the electoral process
(relating to campaigning, polling, counting etc). In
the absence of a formal challenge or complaint the
ECC or a PECC can take the initiative in considering
an issue within its jurisdiction.
A PECC has primary jurisdiction regarding
challenges and
complaints
that
arise
in
its
province
and any of its decisions may be appealed to the ECC
by any affected party. ECC decisions, however, are
final and binding.
8/8/2019 AFGHANISTAN Electoral Complaints Commission 2010 Factsheet 1
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/afghanistan-electoral-complaints-commission-2010-factsheet-1 2/2
For further information please visit www.ecc.org.af
If questions remain, contact ECC Public Outreach – 079 834 0131 – [email protected]
The ECC and PECCs must wind up their activities
within two months of the certification of the
election results and transfer their responsibilities to
the Independent Election Commission.
Challenges
The ECC is responsible for the adjudication of
challenges brought against voters who do not
comply with
the
provisions
of
Article
11
and
candidates who do not comply with the provisions
of Article 12(2) or (7) or 13(1)(5) of the Electoral
Law. By the end of the period for challenges against
aspirant candidates, the ECC had ordered the
removal of one candidate from the final candidate
list for providing false information as to his identity,
7 because they had not resigned from their official
positions timeously, and 36 because they had been
found to be members of illegal armed groups.
Electoral offences Article 63 of the Electoral Law lists the following
electoral offences:
a) Providing false information to the Independent
Electoral Commission (IEC) and its related
commis‐sions
b) Threatening, intimidating or attacking the
dignity of a voter, candidate, journalist covering
the
election
or
permanent
or
temporary
election employee, or using force against them
c) Preventing anyone, including accredited
observers and agents, from participating in the
electoral process
d) Fraud in balloting or vote‐counting
e) Offering or accepting money or any other benefit to influence the electoral process
f) Possessing, or attempting to obtain, more than
one voter registration card or other document
issued by
the
IEC
g) Voting or attempting to vote using a fraudulent,
forged or altered card or the card of another
person
h) Altering, substituting, stealing or destroying electoral documents without legal authority
i) Duplicating, using or keeping false voter
registration cards or other documents certified
by the IEC, ballot papers or official forms
j) Fraudulently obtaining a voter registration card
or other document certified by the IEC
k) Attempting to vote more than once in an
election
l) Unauthorized tampering with election materials
or ballot boxes
m) Interfering with electoral officials in the
perform‐ance of their duties
n) Violating the code of conduct for political
parties
and
candidates,
their
agents
or
election
officials
o) Use of funds originating from illegal activities
p) Use of foreign funds to influence the electoral
process
q) Inciting or provoking another person to commit
an electoral offence
r) Violating the provisions of the law, regulations or procedures governing the electoral process
s) Nonobservance of IEC, ECC, PECC or Media
Commission procedures
t) Use of any kind of symbol, colour, slogan or
other sign assigned to a candidate by other
candidates or their polling‐station agents
u) Other violations specified in regulations and
procedures
Sanctions and penalties In the event of a violation, the ECC/PECC may adopt
one of these measures in accordance with Article 64
of the
Electoral
Law:
a) Issue a warning, or an order to take remedial
action, to the offending individual or
organisation
b) Impose a cash penalty of up to 500,000
Afghanis, in line with the circumstances
c) Adopt a decision to rerun an election or recount
votes before certification of results
d) Remove a candidate from the candidate list
e) Invalidate ineligible ballot papers or order the
count or recount of one or more ballot papers
f) Prohibit an offender from serving in any
commission for a period of up to 10 years
If an offender is a member or supporter of a
political party, or a supporter of a candidate, the
ECC/PECC may impose sanctions on the party or
candidate concerned.
The ECC/PECC may also refer an offender for
prosecution if it has evidence that the offence
constitutes a crime.