Kabul, 8 Subh: Yonus Tughra, a member of the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), called the election of Zohra Shinwari as the chairperson of the commission an “electoral coup.” He told 8 Subh that he had won the first round of the administrative board elections, which was held on March 6, by a majority of votes.
According to Tughra, in the first round, he received two votes, Zohra Shinwari one vote and Mohammad Qasem Eliasy one vote for the ECC presidency. Qutbuddin Roidar, another member of the ECC, said Tughra had withdrawn his candidacy and used a white ballot.
Yonus Tughra said that according to the procedure, the criterion for electing the president is “majority vote”, not “fifty plus one vote”, and the candidates who won the majority should win. According to Tughra, the result of the first round was not accepted, and thus, in the second round, he received two votes and Zohra Shinwari also received two votes.
Mr. Tughra said that according to the usual legal rule in elections, in case of a tie between two candidates, the winner is the candidate who has higher education and experience than the opponent. Thus, Tughra says that he was elected as the chairperson of ECC in the second round with a tie and a difference in the degree of education and work experience.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Complaints Commission has announced Zohra Shinwari as the chairperson of the commission.
Yonus Tughra called the announcement of Zohra Shinwari’s victory an “electoral coup.” According to him, a week later, in his absence, due to pressure from outside circles, some members of the Electoral Complaints Commission carried out an “electoral coup” and appointed Zohra Shinwari as the chairperson of the commission.
Mr. Tughra has raised the issue in a letter to the commission’s secretariat, which has also sent a copy to election partners and observers, saying that the election of Zohra Shinwari as the commission’s chairperson was an “electoral coup” and “against the law.”
Yonus Tughra also told the Secretariat of the Electoral Complaints Commission that any activity and signature of “another person in the name of the chairperson” was illegal. Meanwhile, the Electoral Complaints Commission has announced that four members of the commission have retained their former board members on March 13.
