| Submit your comments on this article |
| Afghanistan |
| Abductions hit Afghan poll build-up |
| 2010-09-18 |
| [Al Jazeera] Taliban fighters are believed to have abducted more than 20 people linked to Afghanistan's parliamentary elections, due to be held on Saturday amid tight security. At least two candidates are among the missing, who also include election officials and campaign workers, officials said. One candidate was snatched in the eastern province of Laghman, while another has been missing for three days in western Herat province, his family have said. Afghans are due to go to the polls on Saturday to elect 249 parliamentarians in an election opposed by the Taliban and other bad turban groups in the country. The Taliban warned on Thursday that polling centres, election workers and security forces would be targeted, and said that voters who tried to cast ballots "would get hurt". "There certainly has been intimidation of a whole variety of people who are engaged in the political process," Andy Campbell, country director of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs - one of the organisations monitoring the Afghan elections - told Al Jazeera. "It is not just those who are seeking to be candidates ..., also people from the independent election commission have had pressure placed upon them not to be engaged in the process in any way, shape or form." The Taliban have grabbed credit for the kidnapping of at least one of the candidates, Abdul Rahman Hayat, and are suspected to be behind the disappearance of 18 election officials and campaign workers in the north-western Bagdhis province. Officials believe they have been taken to a Taliban stronghold in the province. |
| Posted by:Fred |