MAZAR-I-SHARIF (PAN): Rejected provincial council candidates from Balkh on Saturday complained the Independent Election Commission (IEC) had not assigned them convincing reasons for their disqualification.
Of the 129 individuals in the run for the Balkh provincial council, six were excluded from the preliminary list of candidates. The rejected candidates questioned the IEC decision, saying they had not been satisfactory explanations.
Haji Noorullah Bakhtiari, a disqualified candidate, told Pajhwok Afghan News he was wondering why his name had been excluded from the list despite the fact that he was eligible for the position.
He claimed meeting all conditions and asked IEC officials to assign him cogent reasons. “I have filed a complaint with the IEC office, hoping I would be included in the primarily list.”
Dr. Dost Mohammad Jahid, another disqualified candidate, said he did not know why his name had been struck off the list. “I resigned my job in a governmental hospital to take part in the provincial elections...”
IEC officials in Balkh said they had handed over all complaints to the main office in Kabul. IEC chief for the province, Izzatullah Arman, said all 17 women candidates for provincial council seats had been included in the preliminary list.
Arman added the disqualified candidates included Asadullah Ahmadzai, Amirullah Amini, Dr Dost Mohammad Jahid, Omaid Nasiri, Sayed Hussain Hussaini and Haji Noorullah Bakhtiari.
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