IEC Secretariat chief Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhail on Saturday said a number of tasks remained to be completed with just six days before Election Day. He said the tasks included reviewing election employee placements, distributing election materials to polling sites and much more.
Next Saturday's presidential and provincial council elections have been the subject of much attention around the world, marking Afghanistan's first democratic transition of presidential power in history. Ahead of the vote, however, concerns have been raised about security threats and fraud.
“The distribution of cards to observers will be reviewed by Friday,” Amarkhail said regarding the thousands of election monitors expected to participate next week. “The transfer of critical election materials to polling centers will be completed by Friday evening and security will also be reviewed."
"The IEC has taken special preparations for the historical event that will take place next Saturday, and these reviews are to assure people there are no deficiencies," he added.
Meanwhile, the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA), one of the many non-governmental organizations observing the voting process, has said that based on recent data, the number of people participating in this year’s election will be higher than in the last one in 2009.
“Technical preparations for the IEC, such as transferring critical materials to polling centers and preparating security for the polling centers, all have to be made in order to assure the security of the elections,” head of FEFA Nader Naderi said. “Interest has increased among the observers, which increases optimism towards election.”
Source/Fuente: http://www.tolonews.com/elections2014/busy-week-ahead-iec
