At least three explosions hit different areas of Kabul, where election to the lower house of the country's parliament are taking place on Saturday, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik on Saturday
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th October, 2018) At least three explosions hit different areas of Kabul, where election to the lower house of the country's parliament are taking place on Saturday, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik on Saturday.
"As of now, we have information on the three explosions, however, there is no information about killed or injured yet," the spokesperson said.
All the explosions occurred near polling stations, he added.
"However, they did not affect the desire of citizens to cast their votes," the spokesperson noted.
So far, none of the extremist groups operating in the country has claimed responsibility for the explosions.
Before the vote, members of the radical Taliban movement, which does not recognize the Saturday election, threatened civilians and announced their intention to sabotage the electoral process.
This year, over 2,500 candidates compete for 249 seats in the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly of Afghanistan, of which less than 10 percent (205 candidates) represent 26 political parties, while the remaining candidates are running as independent candidates. The voting is conducted in 32 of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. In Ghazni province, the election is scheduled for spring 2019, and in Kandahar province it will be held next week due to Taliban's attack on the governor's office.
The term of office of the current parliament expired back in June 2015. The next election, initially scheduled for 2016, was repeatedly delayed over unstable security situation in the country. The powers of the parliament were extended by a presidential decree.
