Afghanistan’s top electoral official has resigned, potentially complicating efforts to organise parliamentary elections for this northern autumn. Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani, who has repeatedly accused the government of meddling in the electoral process, stepped down two years after himself being accused of failing to prevent fraud in a bitterly disputed presidential ballot. A spokesman for the Independent Election Commission, which Mr Nuristani chaired, said he had resigned in the “national interest”, declining to comment further. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accepted his resignation, the presidential palace said on its Twitter feed.
Mr Nuristani was in charge of organising the 2014 presidential election, the country’s first democratic transfer of power, which descended into near-chaos when both Dr Ghani and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, claimed victory.
Dr Abdullah’s supporters have long sought Mr Nuristani’s ouster, and Saturday’s resignation might be seen as a concession to them.
Full Article: Afghan electoral commission head quits, clouding political landscape.
