Explosions rock polling centres
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i have been waiting for two and a half hours and the iec officials say they have not received the voter registration list yet said mohammad mohaqiq a deputy to afghan chief executive abdullah abdullah1 dozens of casualties have been recorded in multiple explosions that rocked polling centres across kabul on saturday1 at least 30 people have been taken to a trauma hospital run by the italian ngo emergency including a dead child the organisation said on twitter hours after the taliban warned voters to boycott the ballot to protect their lives1 afghan officials confirmed there have been casualties but would not provide a number1 an afp correspondent saw voters fleeing a polling centre in the north of the afghan capital following a blast that a witness said had caused a number of casualties1 deadly violence has marred the shambolic preparations for the parliamentary election that is more than three years late with hundreds killed or wounded1 the latest bombings are likely to scare off voters hurting turn out and the credibility of the election1 missing voter registration lists and hiccups with biometric voter verification devices which are being used for the first time already have caused lengthy delays at polling centres across the country voters and candidates complained1 most polling centres opened late after teachers employed to handle the voting process failed to show up on time said the independent election commission iec which has promised to extend voting hours1 i came here early to finish and go home quickly but we have been waiting for an hour and they have not started yet mustafa 42 told afp outside a mosque in kabul1 the queue is getting longer. they have to register our votes quickly we are afraid a bomber or a blast may hit us1 many polling centres in the heavily shiite neighbourhoods of kabul remained closed a top government official told broadcaster tolo news1 the explosions occurred amid growing anger among voters as they waited hours to cast their ballots in long-delayed legislative elections1 abdullah afghanistans equivalent of prime minister also waited for around half an hour at a polling centre as election workers searched for his name on a list1 almost nine million people have registered to vote in the parliamentary election which is more than three years late1 the killing of a powerful police chief in a highly secure compound in the southern province of kandahar on thursday has eroded confidence in the ability of security forces to protect polling locations1 voting in kandahar has been delayed by a week following the attack which killed three people including general abdul raziq1 as voting got under way saturday three rockets were fired into the northern city of kunduz a police spokesman said. no casualties were reported1 there also were numerous reports of bomb explosions near polling stations in several provinces1 despite the risks president ashraf ghani urged every aghan young and old women and men to exercise their right to vote after casting his ballot in kabul1 photos posted on social media showed scores of men and women clutching their identification documents purportedly lining up outside voting centres across the country amid a heavy security presence1 a woman dressed in a burqa leaving a polling centre in the northern city of mazar-i-sharif told afp she had been worried about security incidents but decided to vote anyway1 we have to defy the violence hafiza 57 said. in previous years we were not happy with the elections our votes were sold out1 the iec which has been skewered over the chaotic lead-up to the ballot on friday urged afghans to vote only once and called on others not to interfere in the process1