Afghans Vote in Parliamentary Elections Amid Reports of Violence

Voting got underway in Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections on October 20, amid a backdrop of poor organization, closed polling stations and reports of violence.

Many polling stations failed to open on time however, reportedly due to lack of staff and a high voter turnout, with the polling station in Omid-e-Sabz, Kabul, remaining unopened four hours after voting officially began.

In response, the Independent Electoral Commission announced that polling stations which opened late would open again the following day.

There were multiple reports of violence in the capital, Kabul, and elsewhere in the country on election day.

The vote came days after a gun attack at a compound in Kandahar on October 18 in which two senior Afghan officials were killed. The attack prompted a decision to delay the vote in Kandahar by a week. The national elections were delayed for years, most recently from a July 2018 date into October. Credit: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via Storyful