As Afghanistan’s upcoming presidential elections is getting closer, both the election commission and the citizens are increasingly concerned that security challenges may disrupt the polling process. “Security problems have remained the main challenge before holding elections and it is a matter of concerns for the Independent Election Commission(IEC),” spokesman for the election body, Noor Mohammad Noor told Xinhua recently. He also confirmed that the election commission had failed to open registration centers for voters in four districts of Bagran, Disho, Kakar and Alasai in the country’s more than 400 districts because of security problems. Afghanistan’s third presidential and provincial councils’ elections are slated for April 5, 2014 in the post-Taliban nation amid Taliban threats to disrupt the process. Meanwhile, Noon Mohammad Noor, the IEC spokesman, admitted that security problems are a challenge for the historic polls scheduled for April next year.
Some 17.5 million Afghans, 4.2 million of them in 2013, have registered to use their franchise in the coming elections, election officials said.
Meanwhile, spokesman for Afghanistan Interior Ministry Sediq Sediqi has brushed aside all security concerns, saying security personnel are ready to ensure security for the elections.
Earlier he told a press conference that all necessary preparations have been taken to hold elections in a peaceful environment.
Only 200 polling centers out of 7,000 poling centers across the country are facing security threats, election officials said.
Full Article: Security remains a challenge before Afghan polls – WORLD – Globaltimes.cn.
