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KABUL, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan Electoral Complaint Commission (ECC) on Wednesday announced that 31 contesters who registered for Afghanistan's second parliamentary election had been disqualified for charges of having links with illegal armed groups, a member of the ECC Ahmad Zia Rafat said.
"The ECC has received from the Vetting Committee an official letter containing the names of 31 candidates who have registered to contest the election for Wolesi Jirga or Lower House of parliament while having links with illegal armed groups," Rafat told a press conference here. However, he did not disclose their names.
The vetting committee, he said, elaborated that the candidates in question although have been given the chance to defend their disqualification, they failed to get clearance by the commission.
"Therefore, based on the 7th clause, article 12 of the Electoral Law, the ECC found that these citizens cannot candidate themselves for the election, and therefore the ECC decided that their names should be removed from the final list of the candidates of elections," he said.
He also said that five other candidates had already been disqualified by the election watchdog before the final list had been released by election officials.
Some 2,577 Afghans including 406 women had registered their names to secure 249 seats in the Afghan Lower House of parliament.
Afghanistan's second legislative polls, since the ouster of the Taliban regime by the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001, are scheduled for September 18 this year while security has remained the main challenge for the process in the militancy-hit country.
However, hours earlier Zahir Azimi, the spokesman of the Afghan Defense Ministry, said in a press conference that he has assured the election body that security will be ensured in over 6,000 polling centers.
Furthermore, according to Azimi, the Afghan and NATO-led forces officials are busy in assessing the security of the over 700 remaining polling centers in the militancy-hit areas mostly in the southern provinces.
"We have assured the Independent Election Commission (IEC) that in over 6,000 centers out of 6,835 polling centers listed by the IEC will be secure for election process," said Azimi.
In the meantime, he asserted that still there had been challenges for candidates in several provinces including Taliban hotbed Kandahar and Ghanzi province in the southern part of the country.
Taliban militants who boycotted last year's presidential elections and attack several polling centers especially in the southern region have vowed to derail the upcoming parliamentary elections.
"The ECC has received from the Vetting Committee an official letter containing the names of 31 candidates who have registered to contest the election for Wolesi Jirga or Lower House of parliament while having links with illegal armed groups," Rafat told a press conference here. However, he did not disclose their names.
The vetting committee, he said, elaborated that the candidates in question although have been given the chance to defend their disqualification, they failed to get clearance by the commission.
"Therefore, based on the 7th clause, article 12 of the Electoral Law, the ECC found that these citizens cannot candidate themselves for the election, and therefore the ECC decided that their names should be removed from the final list of the candidates of elections," he said.
He also said that five other candidates had already been disqualified by the election watchdog before the final list had been released by election officials.
Some 2,577 Afghans including 406 women had registered their names to secure 249 seats in the Afghan Lower House of parliament.
Afghanistan's second legislative polls, since the ouster of the Taliban regime by the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001, are scheduled for September 18 this year while security has remained the main challenge for the process in the militancy-hit country.
However, hours earlier Zahir Azimi, the spokesman of the Afghan Defense Ministry, said in a press conference that he has assured the election body that security will be ensured in over 6,000 polling centers.
Furthermore, according to Azimi, the Afghan and NATO-led forces officials are busy in assessing the security of the over 700 remaining polling centers in the militancy-hit areas mostly in the southern provinces.
"We have assured the Independent Election Commission (IEC) that in over 6,000 centers out of 6,835 polling centers listed by the IEC will be secure for election process," said Azimi.
In the meantime, he asserted that still there had been challenges for candidates in several provinces including Taliban hotbed Kandahar and Ghanzi province in the southern part of the country.
Taliban militants who boycotted last year's presidential elections and attack several polling centers especially in the southern region have vowed to derail the upcoming parliamentary elections.