Candidates' Posters Damaged

Nearly 40 per cent of all Afghans say they won’t be voting in the September 18 parliamentary election, despite attempts made to ensure security, according to a recent poll.

In more unstable areas of the country, that figure rose to nearly 80 per cent.

Mohmad Dawood, a resident of Balkh province in northern Afghanistan, said he won’t be voting because most candidates “are not good people”.

Although some elected officials are educated, they are unknown to the majority of the population.

Most of the candidates, however, are uneducated and unable to make good speeches, added Dawood.

Fazel Ahmad Toghyan, himself a candidate, said that most of his fellow parliamentary hopefuls disappoint people because they do not deliver on their promises.

In the city of Herat, some residents say they won’t be voting because they believe most candidates only want to be elected to make business deals in Kabul.