Doubt casts on Afghan election as insecurity intensifies

KABUL -- The increased Taliban onslaught and deteriorating security have spelled fear among the war-weary Afghans ahead of presidential polls.

An Afghan presidential election hopeful has asked for postponement of the upcoming presidential election, believing people would not attend the process due to the harsh security situation.

The Sept 28 poll will be the fourth presidential election in Afghanistan since 2001, when the United States invaded the country following the Sept 11 attacks, ousting the Taliban regime.

Addressing a gathering of his election campaign, Ibrahim Alokozay citing the critical security situation, said that "holding an inclusive and transparent election was impossible under the current deteriorating security."

According to him, the poll results would not eventually be acceptable if the process was held under the current circumstances.

The countdown for the upcoming poll has already begun, particularly when the United States canceled the talks with the Taliban, after the militants' claimed suicide car bombing that killed two foreign soldiers, including an American, and 11 others in the Afghan capital Kabul.

The Taliban militants intensified fighting across the country after US President Donald Trump tweeted that he has called off negotiations with the Taliban group, blaming it for having no power to continue the peace process.

Some Afghan citizens cast doubt on the election process and say people would not dare to join the polling centers for tough security reasons.

"We are facing growing insecurity, everywhere is fighting, people will not dare to go to the voting centers and I will not attend the process," Daud Nejrabi, a Kabul resident told Xinhua, adding that the peace process must be resumed to have a possible peaceful and inclusive presidential election in the country.

Another Kabul resident and a government employee, Suraya Raiszada said she dares not to go to the election polls as Taliban militants have warned to target anyone who goes to vote.

"We are receiving death threats on a daily basis, from the militants in big cities and districts as well, in case we attend the presidential election. The security must be strengthened and the security of polling stations must be guaranteed before the polls," she said, hoping the security forces could remove all security challenges for the people to attend the election.

Taliban militants have boycotted the election, warning they will disrupt the process.

The extremist group has attacked three provincial capitals and overrun several districts within the past two weeks, causing heavy casualties on security forces and civilians.

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and election commission officials are consistently emphasizing that the vote would be held on the scheduled date and that the militants did not have the ability to disrupt the process.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Adela Raz has recently said that the Afghan government was committed to holding a transparent, free, credible and inclusive election.

Some 9.6 million eligible registered voters are expected to cast ballots in more than 5,300 polling centers across the country.