Afghan Election Commission Postpones Presidential Vote Until September 28 - Reports

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) of Afghanistan postponed the date of the presidential election in the country until September 28, 2019, local media reported on Wednesday, citing IEC Head Hawa Alam Nuristani

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th March, 2019) The Independent Election Commission (IEC) of Afghanistan postponed the date of the presidential election in the country until September 28, 2019, local media reported on Wednesday, citing IEC Head Hawa Alam Nuristani.

Tolo news broadcaster reported that, according to Nuristani, this decision was made to ensure transparency of the election and to arrange voter registration.

On December 30, the IEC announced that the country's presidential election, initially scheduled for April 20, would be pushed back to July 20. The commission explained its decision by pointing out the problems the country faced during the parliamentary elections in October 2018 and the preparation of talks on a peace agreement with the Taliban radical movement.

Afghanistan has long been suffering from an unstable security situation. The government has been fighting the Taliban, which has been waging a war against Kabul for almost two decades and, according to recent reports, controls about half of the country's territory, and the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia), which has been operating in Afghanistan since 2015.