KABUL (SW): A list for the public sector employees is making rounds on the social media indicating designated holidays for the sake of registration for the forthcoming elections.
The list has designated holidays for each ministries, departments and other public sector institutions so that the personnel can register for the district and parliamentary elections.
Without acknowledging or rejecting the existence of such a list, Shah Hussain Murtazawi, deputy spokesman for the president, stressed the registration process is a voluntary exercise and no one is forced to take part in it against his or her will.
However, a number of public sector employees informed Salam Watandar their supervisors have urged them to definitely register. One such employee who wished not to be named said the public sector workers have no choice, but to register for the district and parliamentary elections.
Gen. Abdul Raziq, police chief for Kandahar, has also stirred controversy by announcing the applications of citizens not registering for the polls would not be accepted.
Mohammad Naeem Ayubzada, head of the Transparent Elections Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA), has said in this regard that asking public sector employees to register is not against the law, but forcing them is clearly a violation.
Analysts agree. Basheer Bezan, an analyst, noted compelling someone for the voters’ registration is a violation of the Constitution.
ENDS
