Press Release

Today, September 28, 2019 the conduct of presidential election is progress. The Free and Fair Elections Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA), sincerely thanks and appreciate the dedication and goodwill of the security forces for insuring the security, the services and the support of the Independent Election Commission for conducting and facilitating the process, the honorable people of Afghanistan for their participation in the elections, And the superb performance of media for the coverage of the election.

The FEFA present its findings of observation of the process of the election, from the start of the day, 7:00 -10:30 AM.

1. Delay in opening of some Polling centers: In various provinces including Kabul, Paktia, Farah, Khost and Maidan Wardak, due to The security and formalities the polling stations has been opened with an hour of delay, for example, in some areas, polling stations have been opened with unprofessional delay, by cutting grand opening Strips, to voters and in many cases centers have been opened with delay due to
2. Problems with Voter’s List: Reports from Nangarhar, Khost, Kandahar, Panjshir, Nimroz, Badakhshan, Jawzjan, Sarepol and even Kabul provinces indicate voter names. In Tazkeras, Biometric device, and voters list do not match. This means that the names on the device are not on the list, and the opposite scenario is also true. ) For example, the Nimroz Commission Vice-President's name did not exist in the voter list (the other, voters’ name was not on the device and the list despite having a sticker on his Tazkera. This problem was less common at first, but have increased over time).
3. Biometric devices since the beginning of the day in some cases: there are reports from various provinces such as Kandahar, Nangarhar, Khost and even Kabul that the devices have had difficulty identifying individuals during the voter identification process. And even in some cases, the device is completely inactive/out of
4. Extreme displacement in delivery of electoral materials: From one polling center to another, even from one district to another has been witnessed. There are other reports that sensitive materials in some polling stations are shortened, reports indicate that in some 766 polling stations which includes eleven districts had failed to receive election materials and that these centers remained closed due to luck of electoral materials.
5. Serious Disruption of Telecommunications: Disruption of Telecommunications in provinces such as Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Nuristan, Baghan, Kunduz, Nimroz, Badghis, Ghor, Farah, Jawzjan, and districts of Herat, Logar and other provinces have been reported despite the Ministry's assurance of Ministry of Tele Communications , this problem still exists that caused disruption to the process and lack of transparent oversight and observation.

The aforementioned issues are of the most serious challenges facing the election since the beginning of the day. FEFA urgently, and respectfully, urges the Independent Election Commission (IEC) to pay close attention to resolving the issues raised on what is up to the Independent Election Commission, and to announce its decisions regarding resolving the issues as soon as possible. FEFA also urges the respected security forces and the Ministry of Telecommunication to take action, if possible, to resolve the problem of communication of the province.

It is imperative that the Commission needs to report and ensure that materials are delivered to the centers and stations and districts mentioned above.