Lukewarm response to voter’s registration worries Qanuni

KABUL (Pajhwok): Former vice-president and jihadi figure Yunus Qanuni on Thursday said the turnout of ‘a limited number’ of people to register to vote was a matter of concern and the upcoming elections might face challenges.

Qanuni, who has served on different government posts after the fall of Taliban regime, was addressing a conference in Kabul about the country’s political situation.

The conference titled “Unspoken Words of Bonn Conference” was organized by the Law and Political Science Organization and attended by a number of political figures and civil society activists.

Talking about the upcoming Wolesi Jirga and district council elections, Qanuni said: “Election is the demand of our people and the Constitution, I hope the polls would be held on their schedule and transparently.”

“But we are worried about the security situation and the lack of a political will for the elections, we hope the government and the Independent Election Commission (IEC) would take action for resolving these issues,” he said.

Qanuni said people’s poor appearance in the voter’s registration process did not send a good message to the IEC.

Two days back, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Abdullah Abdullah also said people’s participation in the voter registration process was unenthusiastic and there was a need for encouraging people to register in the process.

The voter registration process began five days ago nationwide. The president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) registered as voters on the day first and they asked the public to participate in the process.

However, IEC officials said international institutes were not cooperating with them in spreading awareness among people about the voter’s registration campaign and ‘a little money’ has been allocated for the purpose by the government.

The Wolesi Jirga and district council elections are scheduled for October 20.

mds/ma