AFGHANISTAN'S president Hamid Karzai has agreed to reverse an earlier decision and allow two foreigners on a commission to monitor forthcoming parliamentary elections.
His move yesterday comes amid international pressure to avoid a repeat of last year's fraud-tainted presidential vote.
Last month, Karzai signed a decree allowing him to appoint all five members of the Electoral Complaints Commission in consultat
ion with parliamentary leaders and the head of the Supreme Court. The body previously had three UN appointees.
The decree was criticised as an attempt to control the body ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for September. After last year's presidential vote, the complaints commission ruled there had been widespread ballot stuffing and stripped Karzai of nearly a third of his votes. Karzai was later declared the victor when his remaining challenger dropped out of the race.
Holding credible elections is key to establishing the legitimacy of the Afghan government, a main component of Nato strategy in the fight against Taleban insurgents who have gained ground since a US-led invasion in 2001. Government corruption is often cited as a major reason why Afghans have turned to the Taleban.
Karzai spokesman Waheed Omar said the president is willing to accept some foreigners on the election watchdog body because the country is in a "transitional phase" to democracy.
However, he said the monitoring body – which is separate from the elections commission that administers the polls – would still be controlled by Afghans, who would hold a majority vote. It was not immediately clear whether Karzai or the UN would appoint the foreign commission members.
The head of the advocacy group Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan, Jandad Spinghar, said the nationalities of the monitoring commission matter less than how independently the watchdog works in the next elections.
Spinghar said: "If there is no legal guarantee for the independence of the ECC, there will be problems."
