Voter registration: Kandahar second after Kabul

KANDAHAR (Pajhwok): Nearly 60,000 people, including 4,000 women, have registered as voters during the past 10 days in southern Kandahar province, electoral officials said on Tuesday.

They said about 20, 000 individuals registered their names to vote in the Oct 20 Wolesi Jirga and district council elections within the past 24 hours in the province.

Provincial Independent Election Commission head Hasham Durrani told Pajhwok Afghan News that 60,000 people had so far registered as voters in Kandahar.

He said people started coming to the registration centers in great numbers following an awareness creating gathering at the governor’s house a few days back.

He said hundreds of tribal elders and influential figures from across the province attended the gathering.

On the other hand, local residents complained about the shortage of workers at voter registration centers.

They alleged those having connections inside the registration offices were able to get their job done quickly.

Around 40 voter registration centers are currently active in Kandahar.

Durrani said the registration process if needed would be extended. He said Kandahar was second after Kabul in terms of registering a large umber people as voters so far.

He acknowledged that police had intervened in some cases to get registered their friends earlier than others, but the issue had been discussed with the authorities and would be resolved soon.

A voter registration and paper ID card center has been opened exclusively for women at the provincial Women’s Affairs Department in Kandahar City.

Ruqia Achakzai, the department head, said the center was established in order to facilitate women to easily get registered as voters and obtain the ID cards.

She said the step was taken after women showed increasing interest in the electoral process. Achakzai said women who had not yet obtained their ID cards, should visit the center.

pk/ma