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Record 435 Afghans killed or wounded in legislative poll: UN
KABUL, Nov 6, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – More than 400 Afghans were killed or wounded
in poll-related violence during three days of voting last month, the United
Nations said Tuesday, making the parliamentary ballot the deadliest on
record.
The vast majority of the 435 casualties — 56 dead and 379 wounded —
happened on the first day of voting on October 20, the UN Assistance Mission
in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a report.
That compares with 251 people killed or injured in the fraud-tainted
presidential election of 2014 and is more than any other poll since UNAMA
began documenting civilian casualties in 2009.
In the six months leading up to the ballot, nearly 500 people were killed
or wounded — more than a third of them women and children — and 245
abducted.
“Deliberate acts of violence against civilians and civilian objects —
which include polling centres — as well as indiscriminate attacks, are
strictly forbidden under international humanitarian law and constitute war
crimes,” UNAMA said.
Days before the election, the Taliban issued several warnings that it
would attack polling centres. It advised voters to stay home and candidates
to withdraw from the race.
The Taliban mostly used rockets, grenades, mortars and bombs to disrupt
the ballot and deter people from showing up at voting sites, UNAMA said.
The deadliest single attack, a suicide explosion in Kabul that killed 13
people and wounded 40, was claimed by the Islamic State group, it said.
Official figures show roughly 4.2 million Afghans voted, compared with
nearly nine million who were registered to participate.
Many suspect a significant number of those were based on fake
identification documents that fraudsters planned to use to stuff ballot
boxes.
Voting was held over three days after problems with untested biometric
verification devices and missing or incomplete voter rolls caused lengthy
delays at polling centres.
Many voting sites opened late or not at all.
Voters in the southern province of Kandahar had to wait a week to cast
their ballot after the assassination of a powerful police chief sparked fears
of a flare up in violence.
The parliamentary poll, which was more than three years late, is seen as a
test run for next year’s presidential election.
It is also considered an important milestone ahead of a UN meeting in
Geneva this month where Afghanistan is under pressure to show progress on
“democratic processes”.
The release of initial results has been postponed to November 23.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1508 hrs