Great National Coalition of Afghanistan: Discovery of Thousands of Fake ID Cards Related to Elections

Less than two months before the parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, a coalition of parties in the country announced that it has collected tens of thousands of election-related documents, including more than 10,000 fake ID cards, which "raises questions about the transparency of the elections." The press conference of the "Great National Coalition of Afghanistan" was held on Saturday, September 10, in Kabul, where coalition officials presented documents indicating evidence of preparations for "widespread fraud" in the upcoming elections. During this press conference, it was also claimed that among the collected documents, "more than 10,000 fake ID cards" were found. Fazl Rahman Orya, the spokesperson for the Great National Coalition of Afghanistan, told Radio Free Europe that during this press conference, they "exposed the fraudulent actions of the [Election] Commission and the government; we have collected about one hundred thousand documents." A large number of ID cards, labels, identity papers, and ballots were shown to journalists at the Kabul press conference. Mr. Orya accused Ashraf Ghani's government of creating an environment "for election fraud" and stated that the government "wants its preferred candidates to win in the Wolesi Jirga elections." The elections for the House of Representatives of Afghanistan, known as the Wolesi Jirga, are scheduled to be held on October 20 this year. Afghan election officials have rejected the statements made at the press conference on Saturday. Hafizullah Hashimi, spokesperson for the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan, stated in an interview with Radio Free Europe that the coalition's access to such a number of ID cards and identity labels is questionable. Mr. Hashimi also called on Afghan intelligence agencies to investigate this matter. Previously, individuals and political groups in Afghanistan had warned about the possibility of fraud in the upcoming House of Representatives elections and made accusations against election officials. The Independent Election Commission has denied these accusations. The House of Representatives of Afghanistan, known as the Wolesi Jirga, has 250 seats.