Call for election awareness drive in Ghazni

GHAZNI CITY (Pajhwok): Some civil society networks and the FRD organisation on Tuesday called for a public awareness drive in connection with the April elections in far-flung areas of southern Ghazni province.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) should conduct the public awareness campaign throughout the country, they said, warning of a low voter turnout if such an effort was not made.

The call came at a gathering organised by the FRD and other civil society organisations in Ghazni City. Resident Waheedullah told Pajhwok Afghan News so far he did not know about the exact date of presidential and provincial council elections and the candidates.

He said if people were not given a proper awareness programme they would be unable to formally participate in the elections to cast their votes.

Farzana, another participant, said huge amount of money were spent on the election process, but the IEC failed to launch awareness programmes among public in a move to better understand the meaning of elections.

Frotan Kamran, head of FRD organization, said since last on month his organization had provided awareness programmes to nearly 600 people including civil society activists and tribal leaders in a number of provinces.

Shah Jahan Sarwari, IEC regional chief, said such gatherings were result oriented, saying his department had assigned 70 people in order to initiate awareness campaign in remote areas.

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