KABUL (PAN): EU Election Observation Mission chief in Afghanistan Thijs Berman has called upon President Hamid Karzai not to select members of the Independent Election Commission (IEC). Berman told a press conference here the president should not make selections of IEC members in order to protect the sovereignty of the electoral body. "IEC officials cannot hold free, fair and transparent elections as long as the commission is not independent," he argued. Under Article 64 of the Constitution, the president can establish commissions for improvement in administrative conditions. Lawyers and analysts say the appointment and selection of IEC members is the president's sole discretion. IEC Spokesman Noor Muhammad Noor said members of the commission were named in compliance with legislative orders issued by the president. He added the demand made by Berman was his personal opinion. The EU observer also called for re-registration of voters for next year's parliamentary elections. "If the voters do not register themselves for a second time, it will be impossible to prevent rigging," he concluded. frm/ma/mud