The Deputy Chief of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) Abdul Rahman Hotaki was summoned to a general session of Parliament on Saturday to answer questions and offer assurances to the representatives about the integrity of the electoral process.
Hotaki said that the election commission would do its best to hold transparent Presidential and Provincial Council elections. He said that 323 new polling centers were recently added to the number of centers throughout the provinces and districts.
"100 percent we will be considerate of the election's transparency," Hotaki said. "We will hold a transparent election with the cooperation of the Afghan people."
Meanwhile, a number of Afghan parliamentarians expressed continued reservations about potential interference and manipulation of the election process by powerful figures. The 2009 Presidential elections was rife with improprieties.
"We were witness to the past elections, the boxes were filled in buildings of districts and provinces and in some provinces there was not a single supervisor," MP Sayed Hassan Sharifi Balkhabi said.
Another MP, Sayed Nadar Shah Bahr said "we are hearing now that some powerful figures have decided to collect the voting cards of women and old men to vote instead of them."
The transparency and security of election are two major priorities for Afghan officials, the two being more linked than separate. The Lower House previously called the security report submitted by security officials last week "unrealistic," and it has generally been MPs that have been most vocal in their concerns about the elections.
Although the officials of Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) were summoned to the session, no ECC officials attended. The Lower House was not pleased.