Security men used for political gains: Khogyani

MAIDAN SHAHR (Pajhwok): The governor for central Maidan Wardak province on Wednesday said security forces should not be used for any political purposes because the whole nation had trust in them.

Presiding over a security meeting in Maidan Shahr, Abdul Majeed Khogyani said still security forces in some areas were used for political purposes, a phenomenon, he said had been affecting their job and the public trust.

 “Some officials tasked security forces with achieving political targets, which led to no voting in some polling stations,” he said, but would not go into details.

However, Khogyani hoped the problem would not be repeated if the elections went to a second round, keeping in mind the past experience.

The governor praised security forces for timely dispatching electoral materials to polling sites for the April 5 elections in Wardak.

Independent Election Commission (IEC) chief in Wardak Noorullah said 41 polling centres had been shut on the election day in Wardak for various reasons, including insecurity and interferences.

He also said if the elections went to a second round run-off, they would complete all preparations in a week’s time.

Although the governor and the IEC official did not name security official who interfered in the elections, the provincial police chief was accused of supporting a particular candidate and was replaced.

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