DUSHANBE, August 20, 2009, Asia-Plus — Afghans, who are temporarily living outside Afghanistan, cannot go to their country, cannot vote in the country’s presidential election that is being held today, Shamsulhaq Aryanfar, Culture Attaché, Afghan Embassy in Dushanbe, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, this is connected with shortage of finance. “Current Afghanistan’s budget does not allow opening polling stations outside the country,” Afghan diplomat said, adding that according to official data, more than 2,000 Afghans currently live in Tajikistan.
According to international media, some 7,000 polling stations have been opened in Afghanistan today morning and millions of Afghans have begun voting in the country”s second presidential election since the fall of the Taliban.
Militants have threatened to disrupt the polls, in which President Hamid Karzai is running for a second term. Violence has escalated in recent days and there are fears some Afghans will be afraid to vote.
Some 300,000 Afghan and international troops have been deployed to protect voters, but early on rocket attacks were reported in a number of cities, BBC News reports, noting that it remains unclear how many of the 6,969 polling sites across the country will operate because of the security threat.
Afghan interior ministry says about a third of the country is at high risk of attack and that no polling stations will be open in eight districts under Taliban control, according to BBC News. There are also concerns about corruption, with reports of voting cards being openly sold and of candidates offering large bribes.
Elections for provincial councils are also taking place, with more than 3,000 candidates contesting 420 council seats in 34 provinces.
