Afghanistan has temporarily closed its common border with Tajikistan in connection with parliamentary elections in the country.
Avesta news agency quoted the spokesman for the main Border Guard Directorate at the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) of Tajikistan, Muhammad Ulughkhojayev, as saying on October 19 that the Afghan side has notified them of closing the border for the time of parliamentary elections in Afghanistan.
Parliamentary elections were held in Afghanistan on Saturday, October 20 to elect members of the Wolesi Jirga (the House of the People). They had originally been scheduled for 15 October 2016,[3] but were initially postponed to 7 July 2018, and then again to 20 October. Reports showed that there were long lines and high voter turnout at available polling stations.
Out of around 12 million eligible Afghans, there are nearly 9 million registered voters including 3 million women. There were more than 21,000 polling stations where voters could their ballots, protected by more than 54,000 members of the security services. The Independent Election Commission (IEC) of Afghanistan estimated voter turnout to be at an “impressive” 45 percent, with women participating at an “historic” fraction of 33 percent of the voters. This reportedly does not include results from the provinces of Kandahar and Ghanzi, which will hold elections at later dates.
