Many Samanganis unlikely to get voter cards

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (PAN): Residents and public representatives say the voter registration campaign is yet to be extended to remote parts of northern Samangan province a result of road blockades.

Provincial council member Ahmad Ali Shah Tamaski told Pajhwok Afghan News on Monday there were several areas located far from registration centres and roads leading to some villages had been closed.

Syed Ali, a resident of Hazrat Sultan district, said the voter registration centre was 100km away from his home and mobile teams were yet to arrive in the area. He feared a large number of people would not be able to take part in the elections.

Provincial Independent Election Commission (IEC) office confirms those living in remote and mountainous parts of the province have not been distributed voter cards as yet.

Muhammad Karim, the IEC provincial office head, however, said the registration campaign was going well.

He said most districts in Samangan were mountainous and in some parts residents found registration centers 170km away from their homes. “But still people are trying to obtain voter cards.”

In consultation with provincial and districts security chiefs, Karim said five voter registration centers had been set up in each district.

He said recently the registration centres ran out of voter cards, indicating the drive had been a success.

frb/ma

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