Afghanistan’s election commission has drafted proposed changes to the country’s election law in a bid to prevent fraud in future parliamentary votes, an official said Sunday. Afghanistan’s 2009 presidential election and the parliamentary election held a year later were both characterised by widespread electoral fraud. “We have used the previous election experiences to prepare the new draft to improve future elections,” Independent Election Commission spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor told AFP. “In the new draft around 50 percent of the electoral law will be changed.”
The proposed amendments include modifications in the vote for parliamentary elections which would allocate a third of seats to political parties on the basis of proportional representation, he said.
The rest of the seats would remain subject to the single, non-transferable vote for an individual candidate which governed previous elections.
Other changes revolve around the authority of the election commission — which is appointed by the government — and the Election Complaints Commission that will redefine violations and fraud. But the changes will not affect presidential elections, Noor said. “The Afghan constitution is very clear about the presidential elections — the changes are only for parliamentary elections,” he said.
Full Article: AFP: Afghan vote law change planned ‘to fight fraud’.