43 in run for Paktika provincial council

SHARAN (PAN) office in southeastern Paktika to contest the April 5 provincial council polls, an official said on Wednesday.

Paktika IEC chief Zarab Gul told Pajhwok Afghan News they had earlier registered 45 candidates, but later two of them withdrew their nomination papers after some objections raised about them.

Those registered included some sitting provincial council members, but most of them were young people, said Gul, adding so far 37,000 people had received voter cards, including 17,000 women, in Paktika.

The official said mobile teams had been sent to remote parts as part of the voter registration campaign and the teams had not yet confronted with any problem.

A candidate, Niamatullah Khalid, complained security related problems remained a major hurdle to people’s participation in the election process.

He said that candidates could not campaign in Dila, Gayan, Zirok and Mata Khan districts due to security fears, warning dwellers would not be able to cast their votes if the situation remained unchanged,.

Khalid said the situation in areas, where Afghan Local Police personnel had been deployed, had improved and residents there would be able to participate in the election process.

According to the IEC, 3,059 people, including 323 women, are in the run for provincial council seats.

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