AT News Report-KABUL: Voter registration in southern Ghazni province has hit snags as residents and provincial council members have warned to boycott the forthcoming parliamentary and district council elections if insecurity continued to prevail.
Residents and public representatives in a protest in Ghazni city called on the government to tame a deteriorating security situation in that province. War is taking its toll on civilians in Ghazni as people are killed in broad daylight, said a protestor, saying that should security threats persist people won’t be able to vote in the elections. He also warned that voter registration campaign in Ghazni was being interrupted due to aggravating insecurity.
Another protestor said the increasing violence in Ghazni hinged from a vacuum in coordination among local authorities. He said the people of Ghazni would take to the streets if the government did not take measures to ensure their security.
Voter registration centers have not been established in Ghazni due to insecurity, said a tribal chieftain. He said that insecurity will hamper the mainstream elections in many areas, facilitating a vote rigging of big scale.
Protestors urged the government to erect voter registration centers in secure areas, warning that people will refrain from participating in the vote if security remained volatile. During the peaceful protest, the gubernatorial spokesperson said the situation had improved compared to the past, but acknowledged an increase in suicide attacks in the province.