Sabari district residents boycott Tazkera registration

KHOST CITY (Pajhwok): The residents of Sabari Yaqobi district of southeastern Khost province have been refusing to obtain Tazkera (paper identity card) in protest against what they allege ‘misbehavior of registration officers.’

Tribal elders of the district say they would also boycott participating in upcoming elections if Tazkera registration officers were not changed.

Haji Noor Badshah, a tribal elder form Sabari district, told Pajhwok Afghan News that it seemed Tazkera registration officers had been directed by someone to fail the process in their district.

 “We have stopped going to voter registration centers over the past four days, policemen at the centers sometimes beat people or officers will not give Tazkera to people in nice manner, it looks they intentionally deprive people of elections and to create hate between the public and the government,” he suspected.

Abdul Qayum Zaland, another resident, said the district administrative chief had shared the problem with the Khost governor but the problem remained.

He said except one Tazkera registration center for the Kuchis (nomads), people have boycotted all other centers due to bad behavior of the officers.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Akbar Zadran, Yaqobi Sabari district chief, told Pajhwok that the problem at the two Tazkera registration centers had been resolved.

However, Qamar Ali Lakanwal, a provincial council member, said local tribal elders had told him that only three Tazkera registration centers were open in the district and people had boycotted other centers due to officers’ bad behavior.

“Local people say Tazkera distribution manager misbehaves with them and that is why they boycotted registration,” he said.

Meanwhile, Khost governor’s spokesman, Talib Mangal, said he was unaware about the problem. But he said he would contact relevant officials over the issue. He, however, did not respond to Pajhwok telephone contact later.

Abdur Rahman Muhabbat, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) agent for Khost, said the boycott had a negative impact on the voter registration process.

Statistics show there are 18 voter registration centers in Yaqobi Sabari district. According to IEC, nearly 60,000 people have registered as voters in Khost so far.

mds/ma