92% of polling centres open
Sep 19, 2010


An Afghan election worker counts ballot papers at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Kandahar province.
PHOTO: REUTERS

KABUL - AN AFGHAN election official said 92 per cent of the country's polling centres had opened for voting on Saturday in the country's second parliamentary election.

'The latest report from the 5,816 polling centres that we planned to open (is that) 92 per cent have opened,' said Fazil Ahmad Manawi, head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC).

'We have no report yet from the other eight per cent whether they have opened or not,' he said. 'We have no province where we have below 50 per cent of the polling stations opened.'

Election officials had already said that more than 1,000 polling stations - out of a total of around 6,900 - would remain shuttered because of insecurity. Mr Manawi said the IEC would release a security report at the end of the day.

The Taleban, which is leading a nine-year insurgency against the Western-backed Afghan government, threatened to attack polling centres in an effort to disrupt the poll.

'Turnout so far has been very good. People are eagerly going to the polling stations,' Mr Manawi told reporters. 'So far there has not been a major incident to derail the election,' he added. -- AFP

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