Taliban has dissolved the Afghan General Election Commission, the panel that oversees polls during the previous Western government, said a government spokesman.
“There is no need for this commission to exist and operate,” said spokesman Bilal Karimi said on Saturday, referring to the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Independent Election Complaints Commission.
If we have felt the need, the Islamic Emirates will revive this commission. “
The Taliban swept power in August when the Western-supported government exploded in the final stage of a chaotic military withdrawal by the United States.
Established in 2006, IEC was mandated to manage and supervise all types of elections, including the President, according to the commission website.
“They have made this decision in a hurry … and dissolving the Commission will have great consequences,” Aurangzeb, who headed the panel until it fell from the previous regime, told the AFP news agency.
“If this structure does not exist, I am 100 percent convinced that Afghanistan problems will never be solved because there will be no election,” said Aurangzeb, which is like many Afghans only one name.
Halim Fidai, a senior politician in the previous regime, said the decision to dissolve the election commission showed the Taliban “did not believe in democracy”.
“They oppose all democratic institutions. They get power through bullets and not ballots,” said Fidai, who was the governor of four provinces over the past 20 years.
Before the Taliban took over, several electoral commission officials were killed by armed groups.
Karimi said the authorities also dissolved two government departments this week – the Ministry of Peace, and the Ministry of Parliament.
The Taliban has closed the former Ministry of Female Administration and replaced it with a ministry for the promotion of virtues and prevention of representatives.
The ministry gained fame during the first taliban task in the 1990s for enforcing a harsh doctrine of religion.
The Taliban government emphasizes the international community to restore billions of dollars in suspended assistance and has promised more moderate rules this time.
