Three IEC voter registration employees along with two policemen have been kidnapped by the Taliban in Ferozkoh City, the center of Ghor province, officials told TOLOnews on Tuesday night.

According to Eqbal Nezami, the Ghor police spokesman, the five were kidnapped from a voter registration center in the city.

Officials confirmed the Taliban first carried out an attack on the registration center in Ferozkoh City before abducting the three IEC staff members and the two policemen. 

No further details were given and the Taliban has not commented. 

The voter registration process was officially launched on Saturday. Since then voter registration turnout has been low but IEC officials are optimistic that the numbers will pick up.

According to IEC officials, Kabul has 374 voter registration centers. Officials said they hoped 37,000 people would register at these centers every day.

The IEC has so far established 1,419 voter registration centers across the country and estimated the cost of the voter registration process will be $30 million USD. The commission has hired over 11,000 people for the duration of the registration process.

The IEC and 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.