Officials among 14 held on fraud charges

KABUL (Pajhwok): As many as 14 people, including two government officials, have been detained for allegedly committing fraud during the elections on Saturday.

The two officials were arrested in central Maidan Wardak province, according to the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and local officials.

They include the Syedabad district crime branch chief and a National Directorate of Security (NDS) operative.

MoI said the pair had been place under investigation. The ministry also said six others individuals had been arrested on charges of electoral fraud in Kandahar and Kabul.

The governor’s house in southeastern Khost province said four individuals, including a woman, had been arrested for possessing 1,067 fake voter cards.

Meanwhile, a person was held with 500 fake voter cards in Gust area of Pusht Koh district of western Farah province.

Pajhwok reporters said they witnessed incidents of electoral fraud taking place at various polling centres.

They saw a 15-year-old girl casting her vote for a presidential candidate.

An election observer in the Punjab district of central Bamyan province told Pajhwok that supporters of presidential candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Zalmai Rassoul had been guiding people into voting for their candidates.

In another case, armed individuals loyal to a provincial candidate, Emal Baraki, had been forcing people into voting for him.

mds/ma

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