Minister of Interior Massoud Andarabi at a ceremony with Defense Ministry's officials on Friday assured proper security for upcoming presidential elections and said candidates can conduct their campaign in a secure environment.

“We discussed issues around the safety of candidates, the security of campaigns, prevention of attacks on polling centers, the security of the election day and transfer of sensitive materials [back to the center],” Andarabi said. 

The Independent Election Commission’s timeline shows that the election campaigns will begin on July 28 and will end on September 25. 

Based on the timeline, preliminary results will be announced on October 19 and the final results will be announced on November 7. 

Head of the Election Commission, Hawa Alam Nuristani, told reporters that she hopes the Taliban will not create a hurdle to the elections. 

“They [Taliban] should let the people to widely participate in the elections and decide on their future through a democratic process,” Nuristani said. 

Eighteen candidates, including President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, are running for president in the elections.

One member of the Independent Electoral Complaint Commission, Qutbuddin Roidar, said that dozens of complaints on early campaigning, using government facilities and others have been sent to the commission.