The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Saturday said the preliminary results of October’s parliamentary elections would now only be announced on November 23 for provinces, and on December 1 for Kabul. 

Last month the IEC said results would be announcement on November 10. 

Hafizullah Hashimi, spokesman for the IEC, said at a press conference on Saturday in Kabul they have had to delay the announcement as the counting process in some districts and centers has not yet been completed. 

Hashimi said that the final results will be announced one month after the announcement of preliminary results. 

Meanwhile, Farah suffered an election setback this week after a military helicopter carrying election material crashed. 

Independent Election Commission (IEC) chief in Farah Mohammad Monir Parsa said Saturday the helicopter that crashed this week, claiming the lives of about 27 people, had also been carrying parliamentary ballot boxes. He added that several biometric devices were destroyed in the crash.

Parsa said that seven boxes, of election-sensitive material, were destroyed.

Hashimi said that 60 biometric devices, 80 printers, 108 power banks, 42 voter’s lists, and election campaign documents of 41 candidates were destroyed in the crash. 

Hashimi said that the commission meanwhile received suggestions this week on the presidential elections for next year and Ghazni parliamentary elections from political parties and election monitoring organizations next week. 

Ghazni is the only province in the country that did not vote in the October 20 elections. 

Although the election commission was supposed to announce the schedule for presidential elections on Saturday, the IEC said following discussions on the issue, the announcement has been delayed for a few days.