Second Day of Elections in Afghanistan Amid Violence and Technical Failures

The parliamentary elections in Afghanistan entered their second day on Sunday. The elections faced delays due to violence and technical issues from the previous day but resumed on Sunday. On Saturday, October 20, several explosions at polling centers in Kabul resulted in at least 18 deaths and 65 injuries. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, one of these explosions occurred in the 17th security district of Kabul, targeting an electoral center. The report states that the attacker intended to enter the polling center, and his suicide attack ultimately led to the deaths of ten civilians and five military personnel. A day earlier, the Taliban warned voters to 'protect their lives' by boycotting the elections. The threats from the Taliban and their daily attacks on election rallies are considered the main challenges to the elections on Saturday. In recent weeks, several election gatherings have been attacked by the Taliban or bomb explosions, including an incident last Thursday where the police chief and a senior security official in Kandahar were killed due to gunfire from the governor's bodyguard. The governor of Kandahar was also injured in this shooting. This attack caused the parliamentary elections in Kandahar province to be postponed by a week. However, despite the Taliban's threats, people stood in line for hours to cast their votes. Nevertheless, a report from Agence France-Presse on the voting process in Afghanistan stated that 'many' polling centers were closed due to technical problems and a lack of personnel, further exacerbating the chaos. Meanwhile, Radio Free Europe confirmed that Taliban militants in Zabul province intended to attack polling stations in that province and challenge the election process but were targeted by airstrikes from security forces. According to this report, 19 armed Taliban were killed in these attacks. The closure of some polling centers has been reported as one of the issues in the parliamentary elections in Afghanistan. Wais Barmak, the Afghan Minister of Interior, stated in an interview with Radio Free Europe that the closure of polling stations was due to technical problems. According to Mr. Barmak, 'Security measures on Sunday will continue in the same manner, and until the last ballot box reaches the center, strict security measures will remain in place.' Hafizullah Hashimi, spokesman for the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan, stated in an interview with the Afghan section of Radio Free Europe that '8.8 million eligible voters have registered to participate in the elections.' The elections for the House of Representatives of Afghanistan, known as Wolesi Jirga, are being held on Saturday, although it was previously announced that only Ghazni province would not participate due to disputes over electoral districting. On Friday, it was announced that elections in Kandahar province were also postponed by a week. More than 19,000 polling centers were designated for the elections on Saturday, but at the recommendation of security forces, about 2,000 centers were closed. More than 2,500 candidates, including 417 women, are competing for 249 seats in the House of Representatives of Afghanistan. Approximately 54,000 military and law enforcement personnel are responsible for protecting polling stations on election day.