JALALABAD (Pajhwok): The Election Watch Organisation of Afghanistan (EWA) on Sunday launched its voter awareness campaign in eastern Afghanistan, stressing the need for starting the drive nationwide right away ahead of the parliamentary elections.
EWA officials, who addressed a gathering in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, announced their presence in the east and started a two-day workshop for the youth.
EWA head for eastern provinces, Ejaz Malakzai, told Pajhwok Afghan News on the sidelines of the gathering that the workshop was aimed at creating awareness about the rights of voters, procedures, transparency in elections, the importance of elections and people’s participation.
The youth after attending the workshop would transfer their knowledge to people of their respective areas, he said.
Malakzai said before Jalalabad similar workshops involving youth were organized in Behsud and Kama districts and would be conducted in all districts in the eastern zone.
Nangarhar’s acting governor Mohammad Hanif Gardiwal in his address to the gathering urged the youth to play their part in strengthening democracy and creating awareness about the elections.
Recalling some problems that plagued previous elections, he said the youth should inform the people about the importance of elections and should help prevent electoral fraud in future elections.
One of the workshop participants, Ghotai, told Pajhwok Afghan News that she attended the workshop in order to learn more about the importance of elections and share her knowledge with women of her area.
She said women did not know how and to whom they should cast votes in the previous elections, calling for the voter awareness programme to be extended to remote areas where people knew little about the importance of elections.
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