VOTER VOICES & DEMANDS

LASHKARGAH: The war-wearied people of this southern province are fed up with the increasing insecurity and poverty. Some of them are ready to participate in the elections, but others say insecurity is keeping them from joining the process.
The province consists of 11 official and two non-official districts and is located some 650 kilometres south of the central capital Kabul.

People in western Ghor province vow to participate in the upcoming elections to help address their challenges, including unemployment, insufficient schools and lack of health services.
Located 980 kilometers from Kabul, mountainous Ghor province has nine districts.
This report was based on interviews conducted with three women and six men from four districts and the capital of the province.

People of central Bamyan province complain about insecurity, but the lack of roads and poverty are the biggest problems and the people want the future president to solve those problems.

Many residents of Girani village in Bala Bulook district of western Farah province, lost their family members in a deadly air strike by the foreign troops a few months ago. Most want to participate in the elections, but many of them believe nothing is left in life for them.
Located around 35 kilometres east of Farah, the village of Girani still looks deserted. The village was bombed by foreign troops on May 5, and official investigations later revealed that 140 people were killed.

A number of residents of western Badghis province particularly of areas where government had completed development projects said they will participate in the upcoming presidential elections they complained the residents suffer from unemployment and poverty and request the next president to address the existing challenges.
Badghis province has five districts and provincial council has nine seats, three of them allotted to female representatives.
47 people including nine women have are running for the nine provincial council seats in the province.

A number of people in this remote province consider unpaved roads, non-availability of health facilities and electricity as their main problems. Eager to take part in the elections, they want the next president to address the problems.
Badakhsan is located around 560 kilometres north-east of the central capital Kabul and consisting of 28 district. The number of seats in its provincial council is 12 with four of those reserved for women.

JALALABAD: Dwellers of the earthquake-hit Sherzad district of the eastern Nangarhar province said they were participating in the upcoming presidential polls despite the fact that pledges made with them were not fulfilled by the government.
They believe that in using their right to vote, they would be able to elect a president who could pay attention to bringing a positive change in their lives.

Voters in the eastern province of Nuristan said they see no change in their lives in the past five years.
They say no attention has been paid to their province, but they are participating in the election to bring change in the future.
The mountainous province with seven districts shares a border with Pakistan.
The provincial council of Nuristan has nine seats, three of them for women. The province has three seats in the Wolesi Jirga.
The economy of Nuristan is based on agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry.

As per the final list of candidates issued by Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (AIEC), 48 people are in the run for the nine seats on the Logar Provincial Council. Three of the nine members are women.
Identifying security as their biggest concern, residents of the central Logar province want the incoming president to deal effectively with the law and order problem.
The six-district province, a gateway to southern Afghanistan just 60 kilometres south of Kabul, suffers violent incidents almost on a daily basis.

Residents of eastern Kunar province want construction of a hydroelectric dam and security and stability from the upcoming president.
Kunar province shares a 260-kilometer border with Pakistan and has 14 districts.

Kunar province has nine seats in the provincial council and three of them are allotted for female representatives. Fifty-seven people nominated themselves for the provincial council elections, including only three women.