President Hamid Karzai appointed Ziaulhaq Amarkhil as the new Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to the Independent Election Commission Secretariat (IECS). He was officially introduced on Monday, December 3, 2012. Amarkhil worked previously as Director of the Field Operations Department at the Independent Election Commission (IEC).

During the introduction ceremony, Amarkhil asked election stakeholders to work together for electoral transparency. “Elections will be held at a time when war is ongoing in Afghanistan. Therefore, it is necessary to work together to conduct transparent elections in the future,” he said.

Amarkhil promised he would make every effort to establish a transparent working mechanism based on the method of “punishment and reward”.

Amarkhil promised he would make every effort to establish a transparent working mechanism based on the method of “punishment and reward”. He appealed to the international community to provide the IEC with technical and financial assistance for future elections.

The new CEO asserted that a transparent transition of political power is only possible through elections. “I will never hide anything from the people of Afghanistan, civil society, political parties and the media.”

Amarkhil noted his appreciation in the government’s confidence in him to take on this position, and stated that his success depends on the cooperation of IEC personnel, political parties, civil society, candidates and the voters. 

Before Amarkhil’s appointment, Zekria Barakzai was serving as acting CEO following the resignation of Abdullah Ahmadzai, IEC’s former CEO. Barakzai resigned as deputy electoral officer following appointment of the new CEO.