Candidates’ registration to start on Sept. 16

KABUL): Official registration of candidates for the April 5 presidential and provincial council elections will start on September 16, an election commission official said on Thursday.

Independent Election Commission (IEC) secretary Ziaul Haq Amarkhel told a gathering in Kabul that so far 53,000 eligible voters had been registered, with females constituting 25 percent.

Amarkhel said security organs had assured that they would be able to maintain security in all but five districts — one in Ghazni, one in Zabul, one in Nuristan and two districts in Helmand.

He urged political parties and civil society groups to support the IEC in holding the landmark elections.

The gathering was organised by civil society activists, who at the end issued a declaration that asked the Meshrano Jirga to be fast in approving a draft law on the authority, structure and composition of election bodies.

mds/ma

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