Herat officials say all local polling sites are secure

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Officials in western Herat province say all polling sites are protected, asking people could turn out in large numbers to vote without any fear of violence.

Governor Abdul Qayum Rahimi, after casting his vote on Saturday morning told reporters strict security measures had been taken to protect all polling sites and there was no threats to voters.

Meanwhile, police chief Aminullah Amarkhel said that Taliban militants tried to disrupt the election process in Kashk Kuhna, Kashk Rubat Sangi, Gulran and Kahsan districts, but the bid was frustrated by the security forces.

The Taliban disrupted telecom services in the districts and blew up a power pylon in Rubat Sangi, he said, adding over 8,000 Afghan security forces were tasked with protection of polling sites in the province.

He said each polling site under moderate threat had five security personnel, sites with medium threats 10 security personnel. Every polling station faced with a high security threat has 15 security forces.

Daud Seddiqzada, head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) for Herat, said 242 of 300 polling sites were open. There was no information regarding 21 other sites in areas where telecom services were disrupted.

The election would not be held in Pusht Koh and Zirkoh districts due to security problems, he said, adding 571,00 people had received voter cards.

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