In a meeting with the commissioners of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), US Ambassador to Afghanistan Johan R. Bass urged the IEC authorities to stand against any pressures, said the IEC in a statement late Monday, October 15.
Appreciating US financial and technical assistance for the election process, the IEC commissioners reiterated that they were tallying the votes with full impartiality and transparency.
The IEC authorities also stressed that the IEC is committed to announce the election result with due responsibility. They assured that the technical problem—slow transmission of biometric data to tally center—was now resolved.
After the meeting, Bass while being accompanied by a delegation from the US embassy visited the commission’s National Tally Center.
“Impressed with the hard work at the National Tally Center to honor the sacrifices and votes of the Afghan people,” he wrote on his twitter account, adding that patience and transparency are the priorities right now in order to receive reliable results in the Afghan elections.
The US ambassador also noted that he supports the IEC decision to count only biometrically-verified ballots.
“To strengthen transparency and counter misinformation, I hope Afghan election commission publicly releases the numbers and locations of polling centers closed on Election Day soon,” he said.
Under pressure by politicians, presidential tickets and election watch dogs, the country’s Independent Election Commission repeatedly announced that it would remain committed to counting those votes that are recorded in biometric records. As early as yesterday, the IEC announced that 85 percent of votes have successfully been tallied to tally center.
