165,000 Takharis deprived of voting right

TALOQAN (Pajhwok): The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Tuesday said 165,000 of 500,000 eligible voters could not exercise their franchise on April 5 in northern Takhar province.

Provincial IEC chief, Roohullah Mosawi denied scarcity of ballot papers at polling sites. He told Pajhwok Afghan News: “We don’t agree with claims that 12,000 ballot papers were cast in two or three hours…”

He added that 127,170 women also participated in Saturday’s vote and important election materials had been shifted to the provincial office from districts.

Mosawi was concerned about security threats to the ballot boxes during transportation to the main office. However, security forces have promised safe transportation.

A resident of Darqad area claimed hundreds of his villages had been deprived of voting despite the existence of a polling station in their locality. He blamed the authorities for the lack of ballot papers.

A local journalist in Takhar also confirmed a shortage of ballot papers, but said the problem was not as big as to raise questions about election credibility. Hassibullah Karimi called the polls a big achievement for the Afghans.

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