Afghans from different parts of the country said they are ready to vote in the parliamentary elections despite challenges. They said eligible candidates should find their way to the Afghan parliament.

The parliamentary elections will be held on October 20 countrywide, except Kandahar and Ghazni provinces.

People should go to polling stations tomorrow and vote to competent candidates, said Abdul Hadi Bahir, a Kabul resident.

People should vote to the candidates who will serve the nation and take the country out of the current situation, said Mir Maftoon, an artist from Badakhshan.

A Kabul resident, who says he has not registered during the voter registration process, said he regrets that he will not be able to vote on the election day.

I wish I had registered and it would have been better if was able to vote. But now it is not the time for registration, said Habib Rahmati, a Kabul resident.

A number of political analysts said a vast turnout of Afghans is a must for the elections.

If people stay in their homes and do not vote, then the remarks of those who are against democracy will be supported, said Mohammad Umer Daudzai,member of the leadership team of Council for Protection and Stability in Afghanistan.

According to figures by the Independent Election Commission (IEC), at least nine million people have registered to vote in the elections.

IEC Ready To Hold Elections

The IEC officials said they have full preparations for Saturday elections in 32 provinces of Afghanistan.

The IEC spokesman Sayed Hafizullah Hashemi said election materials have been sent to all polling centers across the country.

He said polling centers will be opened at 7am Kabul time.

All the materials are being kept in our offices in the nearest place to district governors offices or districts’ centers and no one can reach them, said Hashemi.

Hashemi said parliamentary elections in Kandahar province has been postponed for one week following the Thursday attack.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary elections have been postponed in Ghazni province due to disagreements on reducing constituencies and security problems in the province.

While security threats have been considered as a potential challenge on the way of elections, security officials said they are fully prepared to ensure the safety of the process.

Materials have been sent. The materials will arrive by 6pm today (Friday) in the areas that so far have not received them, said Awal Rahman Rodwall, head of IEC’s Kabul office.

Afghanistan’s security forces are ready to ensure the safety of October 20 elections, said Gen. Mohammad Sharif Yaftali, the Afghan Army Chief of Staff.