Criticizing the Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Saturday, the election observers said that the voters’ registration process lacks public awareness campaign.
President Ashraf Ghani formally inaugurated the voters’ registration process for the upcoming parliamentary and district council’s elections today.
Mohammad Yousuf Rashid, the executive director of Free and fair Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA) said that based on their estimations, the people’s participation in the first day of voters’ participation process was proved less than what it should have been.
“Unfortunately, there is no public awareness [in the process],” he said.
This comes as currently, about 1,000 polling stations are out of government’s control and over 2,000 voting centers are under high-security threats.
“[Security] threats exist but we are prepared and have our plans,” said the Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak.
Shah Mahmood Mal, a member of the Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA), however, said that the election commission has not worked on other alternatives, as he believes only those people who live in secured areas will participate in elections.
The voting registration process will end after two and half months, but as election observers pointed out, the lack of public awareness could possibly overshadow the process before being completed.
Source Ariananews
