Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and First Lady Rula Ghani on Saturday officially launched the voter registration process and signed up to vote in the upcoming parliamentary and district council elections.
Speaking on Saturday, Ghani said that government is committed to holding elections on time.
“National Unity Government (NUG) has the will and commitment to hold transparent elections on 20 October this year,” said Ghani at the launch of the voter registration process.
Ghani meanwhile called on all Afghans eligible to vote to register.
The president also said that no interference in the work of the Independent Election Commission by any individuals, groups or parties will be allowed.
Ghani said that the election commission must make sure elections are transparent.
“We expect that IEC officials should hold an impartial, transparent election without considering their provincial, ethnic and religious interests,” Ghani said.
Meanwhile, Ghani reiterated the peace offer made in February to the Taliban and said they must end the war and register as a political group.
He also said the Taliban should prepare themselves to take part in the elections adding that elections was a means to end disagreements.
In addition, the CEO Abdullah Abdullah also registered for elections.
Abdullah said that voter registration was one of the National Unity Government’s commitments regarding electoral reforms.
Abdullah emphasized that voter registration is a prerequisite for the public in order for them to participate in parliamentary, presidential, provincial and district council elections.
He said no one will be able to vote if they have not registered.
Abdullah called on the people to register. He said people need to make sure they register at the center where they will vote. He said they will not be able to register at one center and vote at another.
Earlier this week the IEC said the voter registration process will be broken up into three phases.
In the first phase, those eligible to vote can register at IEC offices in provincial centers from April 14 to May 12.
In the second phase, which starts from May 15 and continues through to May 28, the process will be carried out in the districts.
In the third phase, which starts from May 28 to June 22, the voter registration process will be carried out in remote regions of the country.
The IEC has estimated the cost of the voter registration process will be $30 million USD and it has hired over 11,000 people for the duration of the registration process.
The IEC and the government have earmarked 7,300 polling centers across the country, however, nearly 1,000 of these centers are located in areas out of government’s control.