IEC: Voter registration in villages this month

KABUL) on Tuesday said it was planning to start issuing voter registration cards to people in villages across the country later this month.

IEC deputy head Abdul Rahman Hotaki and Secretary Ziaul Haq Amarkhel were summoned to the Meshrano Jirga or upper house to brief lawmakers on the registration campaign and other issues concerning next year’s elections.

Several house members, including Gul Ahmad Azami, Balqis Roshan, Abdul Hanan Haqwayun, Mohiuddin Munsif, Bashir Samim and Musa Khan Hotak, raised concerns about the slow-paced registration drive.

They said the process should be intensified by establishing more registration centres and creating mobile teams.

They also called for taking necessary measures to prevent fraud and irregularities in the April 5 presidential and provincial elections.

Amarkhel said the IEC planned to start issuing voter cards to people in villages from September 27 when the second round of the registration process would have been completed.

Since May, 26, he said, more than one million eligible people had been issued voter cards, with efforts underway to reach the target of 4 million people across the country.

He said the drive in villages would enable women to receive voter cards near their homes. Keeping in mind past experiences, the IEC deputy head said a strategy was mulled on how to prevent fraud and other irregularities.

He said the role of observers was crucial to having a credible vote and the recruitment of fresh election personnel would help strengthen monitoring.

Security agencies are required to take practical steps for security of polling stations before and during the elections, he added.

For his part, Hotaki said the IEC needed cooperation from the people, civil society pressure.

myn/ma