Afghanistan presidential election sees ‘low turnout’

The turnout in Afghanistan’s presidential election has been unofficially estimated at little over two million voters, adding up to one-fifth of the total registered voters.

Afghans went to the polls on Saturday to choose a new president for a five-year term.

However, voter participation appeared to have been lower than in previous years, with the turnout presumably affected by the threat of attacks by the Taliban militant group, a muted campaign, and concerns of fraud.

Out of the 9.67 million registered voters, only about one in five cast their ballots, an election commission official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced in a statement that the official turnout would be shared with the media soon.

The preliminary results of the poll will be announced on October 19, and the final results are expected on November 7, according to the election timetable.

The IEC added in its statement that half of the votes cast had been counted so far.

“According to initial figures, 1,051,998 voters cast their votes in 2,597 polling centers out of the 4,905 polling centers where election materials were dispatched,” the IEC said in the statement.

It added that the number of voters in more than 2,300 centers was still unknown.

The IEC initially planned to hold polls in 5,373 centers across the country, but many polling sites did not open due to security threats.

SS