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Election Impasse Impacting the National Economy: MPs

Lawmakers in Afghanistan’s parliament on Saturday said that the stalemate between the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and dissenting campaign teams over the validity of some votes cast in the presidential election is having a negative impact on the national economy. The MPs criticized the IEC for its inability to handle the process and for failing to announce the preliminary results of the elections.

“The people have become fed up of this--they want it clarified soon,” said Shahnaz Ghawsi, a lawmaker.

At today’s session, some lawmakers also lashed out at the candidates, saying some election campaigns are threatening to reject the election result.

“They should not hold the votes of the people of Afghanistan hostage. Even Gul Marjan (Abdullah) should endorse this, other candidates should also accept it,” said Malalai Eshaqzai, a lawmaker.

But an opposing lawmaker retorted: “If he (Abdullah) is Gul Marjan, then his rival (President Ghani) is also an election-rigger. Ethics must be considered on the floor of the house, the political issues are on one side, but no one has the right to insult national personalities,” said Zal Mohammad Zalmay Noor, a lawmaker.

The administrative board of parliament also asked the lawmakers not to insult the government leaders.

“Decency is very important for us, because we are supposed to be the lawmakers here, we represent the people, so we should be very cautious while sitting in the house of the people (parliament),” said Amir Khan Yar, the first deputy of parliament’s speaker.

This comes on Saturday, a day after officials from the IEC said they are nearly finished with entering voting data from seven provinces out of 34, and that the commission will likely announce the preliminary results of the election on Sunday.

Also on Saturday the Solidarity and Convergence team led by presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah announced that it will not accept the election results unless the IEC undertakes to recount votes in the 27 provinces that it had already completed without the presence of Abdullah’s observers.

Election Impasse Impacting the National Economy: MPs

The administrative board of parliament also asked the lawmakers not to insult the government leaders.

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Lawmakers in Afghanistan’s parliament on Saturday said that the stalemate between the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and dissenting campaign teams over the validity of some votes cast in the presidential election is having a negative impact on the national economy. The MPs criticized the IEC for its inability to handle the process and for failing to announce the preliminary results of the elections.

“The people have become fed up of this--they want it clarified soon,” said Shahnaz Ghawsi, a lawmaker.

At today’s session, some lawmakers also lashed out at the candidates, saying some election campaigns are threatening to reject the election result.

“They should not hold the votes of the people of Afghanistan hostage. Even Gul Marjan (Abdullah) should endorse this, other candidates should also accept it,” said Malalai Eshaqzai, a lawmaker.

But an opposing lawmaker retorted: “If he (Abdullah) is Gul Marjan, then his rival (President Ghani) is also an election-rigger. Ethics must be considered on the floor of the house, the political issues are on one side, but no one has the right to insult national personalities,” said Zal Mohammad Zalmay Noor, a lawmaker.

The administrative board of parliament also asked the lawmakers not to insult the government leaders.

“Decency is very important for us, because we are supposed to be the lawmakers here, we represent the people, so we should be very cautious while sitting in the house of the people (parliament),” said Amir Khan Yar, the first deputy of parliament’s speaker.

This comes on Saturday, a day after officials from the IEC said they are nearly finished with entering voting data from seven provinces out of 34, and that the commission will likely announce the preliminary results of the election on Sunday.

Also on Saturday the Solidarity and Convergence team led by presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah announced that it will not accept the election results unless the IEC undertakes to recount votes in the 27 provinces that it had already completed without the presence of Abdullah’s observers.

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