Over a third of polling centers in the eastern Afghan province of Nuristan have been shut down ahead of next week's presidential election, sparking concerns among the population over whether they will be able to exercise their right to vote
KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2019) Over a third of polling centers in the eastern Afghan province of Nuristan have been shut down ahead of next week's presidential election, sparking concerns among the population over whether they will be able to exercise their right to vote."Twenty-two centers that were open in parliamentary elections are now closed... and there are concerns that other centers will be closed until polling day due to security challenges," Saeedullah Nuristani, the chair of the Nuristan Provincial Council, told Sputnik.
The regional election commission said that a total of 54 locations had been picked to host polling places, but 22 centers were later closed. Nuristan Election Commission chief Shah Jahan Sardari attributed the decision to a lack of security.
"I [confirm] that 22 centers are closed due to security threats, but the police chief has promised me that they will try to get them open up to the polling days," he told Sputnik.
Abdul Wali, a resident of the Mando district, said many Nuristanis feared that they would be deprived of their right to vote and questioned the election's transparency.
"We are ready to vote for our preferred candidate, but our confidence in election transparency is low and there are security challenges," he said.
Mohammad Usman from Parun, the area's main city, said that last year's parliamentary elections were marred by widespread fraud and there was little confidence that the September 28 vote would be any different.
