Afghan polls close after day of violence
Voting in Afghanistan's parliamentary election has officially closed after a day marred by Taliban attacks across the country.
While some Afghans stayed home, others
defied the Taliban's threats.
(AFP: Manan Vatsyayana)
Queues remain outside some polling stations, and an election official said people still waiting to cast their ballots would be permitted to do so.
Several people have been reportedly killed as the Taliban fired rockets at polling stations in several provincial centres.
Two electoral observers were injured in an attack on a voting centre in the eastern province of Khost, and there were also reports of explosions in the northern provinces of Badahkshan and Kunduz.
It it only the second time in the last nine years that people in Afghanistan have had the chance to elect their parliament.
Voters appeared hesitant to go to polling stations after the series of rocket strikes across the country.
The Taliban said on their website they had conducted more than 100 attacks during the day.
Saturday's election followed a similar pattern to last year's flawed presidential poll, which the Taliban also threatened but failed to disrupt significantly despite scores of attacks.
Independent Election Commission (IEC) chairman Fazl Ahmad Manawi said 8 per cent of the 5,816 polling centres had either not opened or not reported in, mainly because of security fears.
The IEC had already decided not to open another 1,019 sites after the Taliban vowed to disrupt voting.
The attacks, and the number of polling stations that remained closed, raised fears about low voter turnout that could affect the outcome and credibility of the vote.
Glenn Cowan, cofounder of US-based observers Democracy International, said turnout felt "about the same" as 2009, when about four million Afghans cast valid votes.
"It was about the same pace this time," he said an hour before polls were due to close.
The Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, an independent watchdog, estimated last year's turnout at around 35 per cent.
There are 11.4 million eligible voters this time.
Intimidation
Many voters stayed home after the Taliban threatened to cut off the ink-stained fingers of those who cast ballots.
"I don't want to go and vote because of the Taliban's intimidation. I don't want to risk my life, just for a candidate," said one resident in Logar, south of Kabul, where four polling stations were closed after Taliban assaults.
Others defied the hardline Islamists' threats.
"This is for Afghanistan's future," said student Sohail Bayat after casting his vote in Kabul. "People don't want the Taliban back, so every Afghan needs to go out and vote."
Corruption and fraud are also serious concerns after a deeply flawed presidential ballot last year when a third of Hamid Karzai's votes were thrown out as fake.
Even though the president is not standing, this weekend's vote is seen as a test of his credibility.
Irregularities reported before and during the vote included fake voter registration cards, people washing ink off their fingers and attempts to bribe or intimidate voters.
It will not be clear for several weeks who among the almost 2,500 candidates have won the 249 seats in the "wolesi jirga", or lower house of parliament.
Early results will not be known until at least October 8, with final results not due before October 30.
Election observers expect thousands of complaints from losing candidates, which could delay the process further.
- ABC/AFP/Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment