MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Some civil society activists in northern Balkh province on Sunday said voter turnout in this month’s presidential elections would be weak in the province if the security situation remains the same.
They were expressed these views at a conference entitled “people’s cooperation in the election process” in Mazar-i-Sharif City, the provincial capital, today
Tamana Noor, a civil society activist, told Pajhwok Afghan News insecurity would have a negative impact on the voter’s turnout.
She said if the security situation did not improve, people would not be able to widely take part in the election process.
She urged security forces to ensure security of elections and remove all hurdles that affected the process.
People should also fight against all injustices and problems and widely take part in the September 28 presidential polls.
Zubida, an Afghan Local Police (ALP) woman, told Pajhwok that security forces alone could not guarantee full security in the election process. She called on people to cooperate with security forces on the Election Day.
She said mostly women would face security risk but still the Balkh women were ready to participate in the upcoming election. She said people had now realised that without election, they could not solve their issues.
Mohammad Ayub Bayane, IEC head for Balkh, told Pajhwok all of their efforts were about to hold election in a peaceful environment. He assured people that 282 polling stations of the total 315 would stay open on the election day.
However, he expressed his deep concern about a possible increase in the number of closed polling centres.
On the other hand, Deputy Governor Mohammad Bashir Tawhidi said that security forces had recently captured many unstable areas from Taliban militants.
pk/ma
