Warlords stuffed ballot boxes in Faryab

MAIMANA (Pajhwok): Some warlords stuffed ballot boxes and election officials committed fraud during Saturday’s elections in two districts of northwestern Faryab province, an official alleged on Wednesday.

“We have received reports that say some warlords interfered and stuffed ballot boxes for their candidate,” he said, but did not name the contender and the warlords.

Bigzad said there had been instances of electoral fraud in two districts, including Sherin Tagab and the April 5 vote provoked more than 90 complaints in the province so far.

IEC chief in Faryab Syed Masoom Masoomi confirmed the claims of fraud and said the complaints with valid documents would be addressed.

Photos taken at some polling stations in Faryab show broken locks of ballot boxes, apparently stuffed fraudulently.

A resident of the Sherin Tagab district shared a video footage with Pajhwok Afghan News showing locks of 24 ballot boxes are broken and refilled with new ballot papers.

The resident said. “I saw some IEC officers taking out ballots from a box, which contained 2,200 votes because a box should contain 600 votes only.”

mds/ma

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