Institutions overseeing the election process said on Tuesday that commissioners whose contracts would have expired by the time presidential elections come around should not be allowed to run for the position of Independent Election Commission (IEC) chief.

This includes three commissioners who were appointed on a three-year contact. They are Maazullah Dawlati, Rafiullah Bidar and Abdul Badi Sayyad – who had all been appointed on three year contracts.

The election watchdogs said these three commissioners have less than two years to go. This means they will not be able to see the entire election process through to the end.

Parliamentary and district council elections are due to be held later this year and presidential elections are scheduled for next year.

However, Abdul Qadir Quraishi, Maliha Hassan and Wasima Badghisi are on five-year contracts and newly appointed commissioner Sayed Hafizullah Hashimi is on a four year contract.

These watchdogs warned that the commissioners should not be nominated because should one of them get the post, problems will arise as their contract would have expired.

“We will have the presidential elections in 2018 and if by that time the commissioners membership or presidency has ended, then there will be another challenge in the way of elections,” Habibullah Shinwari, a member of Election Watch Afghanistan said. 

The new commissioner, Hashemi, was appointed just over a week ago but he has not yet started work.

IEC spokesman Abdul Badi Sayyad said they are waiting for Hashimi to start work so they can elect a new chief. Some sources meanwhile said Hashemi is lobbying other commissioners for votes in order to secure the top spot.  

“Most of the commissioners are waiting for the new commisioner to be introduced. Once the new commissioner is introduced officially to us, then we will see who are the candidates and every one has a right to nominate himself or herself,” said Sayyad. 

The EU has already committed 15.5 million euros into Afghanistan's parliamentary and district council elections, and more funds will be committed for the presidential elections.

“The election process is extremely important, for the sake of strengthening the legitimacy of the constitution, but are so for encouraging the peace process,” EU ambassador to Kabul, Pierre Mayaudon said. 

Although government and donor organizations set July 2018 as parliamentary election date, some sources claim people will go to the polls in October instead.