KABUL - The Afghan body responsible for organizing Saturday’s second round run-off in the country’s Presidential elections has said that more than 6,300 polling centres will open on the day – an increase of about 150 centres compared to the first round of the elections held in April.

In a news release on Tuesday, the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC) said that it is opening only those centres for which the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has given assurances on their security.

“The security of voters is a top priority for both the IEC and to the MoI,” the IEC stated, adding that, “More than 40 per cent of polling stations (9,324) are reserved exclusively for women and are equipped with female election and security staff.”

The IEC has said the 6,365 polling centres which will open on Saturday will house a total of 23,136 polling stations.

Afghanistan’s Presidential election has come to a run-off poll after none of the competing candidates secured 50 per cent plus one of the total number of votes cast, as required under the Constitution to win the election. The two leading candidates from the first round, held on 5 April, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, are now vying with each other to succeed President Hamid Karzai.

Addressing a news conference in the capital, Kabul, today, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, General Zahir Azimi, and its head of operations, Major General Abdul Aman Afzali, assured the public that the Afghan security forces have made “satisfactory arrangements” to ensure security of the polls.

Speaking at a news conference in Kabul on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, General Zahir Azimi (left), and its head of operations, Major General Abdul Aman Afzali, assured the public that the Afghan security forces have made “satisfactory arrangements” to ensure security of elections. Photo: Fardin Waezi / UNAMA
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The defence officials also said that transfer of sensitive electoral materials to all the polling centres and polling stations would be completed tomorrow.

Although the IEC planned to open 6,423 polling centres in the first round, only 6,218 of them were open on the election day due to security reasons.

In a news release on Tuesday, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), called for continued improvements to the electoral process.

“Further improvements to the electoral process will build trust and reassure the Afghan people that their votes will count and will make a difference. UNAMA emphasized that improvements to the electoral process are not the responsibility of any one single actor,” said UNAMA.

The IEC also encouraged voters to cast their ballots in the same centres as they did on 5 April, noting however that votes can also be cast at any polling centre across the country.