(MENAFN- Pajhwok Afghan News) KABUL (Pajhwok): Residents of capital Kabul say some polling stations did not resume voting on Sunday in the parliamentary elections, depriving many of their right to vote.
Voting in the Wolesi Jirga elections kicked off on October 20 nation-wide apart from southern Ghazni and Kandahar provinces. Polling in some polling stations was resumed on Sunday after delays on the first day.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Saturday acknowledged technical problems plagued the voting process and announced that polling stations which were closed on Saturday would be open on Sunday for voters.
IEC chief Abdul Baday Sayyad confirmed at a press conference some technical problems marred the voting process and said central and provincial IEC officials had been ordered to immediately deal with the problem.
He said the IEC had decided to technically resolve problems where biometric system did not work or not had arrived. If the issue persisted, precautionary tools or closed stations should be used.
€œIf problems still persist, the voting process should continue based on voter lists and local IEC heads and observers should write the issue in detail in their confirmation journal,€ he said.
Hundreds of people on Sunday gathered in front of the Abdul Shakor Reshad High School in Bagrami district of Kabul to cast their votes, but the polling station did not open.
Waled Attae, one of the voters, told Pajhwok Afghan News: €œThe polling station staff yesterday told us they will open the polling station tomorrow so we arrived at around 7:00 am today, but the polling station is closed.€
Mohammad Javed Yousufzai, a local elder, said: €œWe waited until late in the night yesterday to cast our votes, but we were told to go home and come tomorrow for the vote. Now they say the votes had been counted and the polling station closed.€
He said over 7,500 people had registered as voters in the polling station, but only 1,700 polled their votes.
Mohammad Ali, a resident of 7th police district of Kabul, said: €œOn Saturday voting did not take place until 12 pm in our polling station.€ He said election commission workers betrayed people and stuffed ballot boxes for candidates of their choice.
IEC spokesman Mohammad Haqparast said voting was carried out in polling stations where the process could not take place on Sunday. He said polling stations were which open yesterday should be open on Sunday too.
But Masjid Mir Hamza polling station in the 5th police district of Kabul was open yesterday and remained open on Sunday as well.
He said 401 polling stations in 22 provinces could not open on Saturday out of which 223 polling stations opened on Sunday and the voting process took place.
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