Afghans are bracing for more deadly violence on Saturday as voters turn out for the long-delayed legislative election across the war-torn country that the Taliban has vowed to attack.

Some 54,000 security forces have been deployed to protect polling centres, which open at 7:00 am, but there are concerns the killing of a powerful police chief on Thursday will scare off many voters.

Voting has been delayed in the southern province of Kandahar after a Taliban-claimed attack on a US-Afghan security meeting that killed three people, including General Abdul Raziq.

General Scott Miller, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, escaped injury in the shooting, but 13 others were wounded.

Almost nine million people have registered to vote in the parliamentary election, which is more than three years late and only the third since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

But the threat of militant attacks and expectations for massive fraud are expected to deter many voters from showing up at the more than 5,000 polling centres.

In the days leading up to the poll, the Taliban has issued several statements urging candidates to withdraw and voters to boycott what the group calls a "malicious American conspiracy".

Shambolic preparations for the ballot have been made worse by a wave of poll-related violence that has left hundreds dead or wounded.

At least 10 candidates out of more than 2,500 contesting the lower-house election have been killed so far.

The most recent victim was Abdul Jabar Qahraman, who was blown up Wednesday by a bomb placed under his sofa in the southern province of Helmand.

Most of the candidates are political novices and include doctors, mullahs and journalists. Those with the deepest pockets are expected to win.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which has spearheaded international efforts to keep Afghan election organisers on track, on Friday urged voters to "exercise their constitutional right to vote".

The poll is seen as a crucial test for next year's presidential election and an important milestone ahead of a UN meeting in Geneva in November where Afghanistan is under pressure to show progress on "democratic processes".

But the eleventh hour introduction of biometric voter verification machines, which have never been used in an Afghan election, threatens to derail the process.

Observers are concerned the results could be thrown into turmoil if the devices are broken, lost or destroyed.

There are also fears the data could be manipulated before preliminary results are released on November 10.

Votes cast without the controversial machines will not be counted, the Independent Election Commission has said, even though polling centre workers have received little or no training in how to use them. </s> Afghanistan's first parliamentary elections in eight years have been marred by violence, with a multitude of attacks leaving at least 36 people dead. Among those killed were 27 civilians, eight police officers and a soldier, the country's Deputy Interior Minister Akhtar Mohammed Ibrahimi said. He added that attackers used everything from grenades to small arms fire to mortars and rocket launchers, and that security forces killed 31 insurgents. The most serious attack on the polls was in a northern Kabul neighborhood where a suicide bomber blew himself up just as voting was about to end, killing three people and wounding another 20, many of them seriously, said Dr Esa Hashemi who treated the injured at a nearby hospital.

Ahead of the elections, both the local so-called Islamic State affiliate and the Taliban threatened violence during elections, warning people to stay away from the polls. The Taliban further warned teachers and students to not allow schools to be used as polling stations. Instead, outside most polling stations there were lines of people waiting to mark their ballot.

As well as violence, the election was marred by chaos with key election workers failing to show up and many polling stations staying open hours later than scheduled to handle long lines of voters. Problems surrounding the elections, which are already three years overdue, threaten to compromise the credibility of polls which an independent monitoring group said were also marred by incidences of ballot stuffing and intimidation by armed men affiliated with candidates in 19 of the country's 32 provinces. Some areas have yet to vote, including Kandahar, where the provincial police chief was gunned down Thursday. Stakes are high in the elections for Afghans who hope to reform Parliament, challenging the dominance of warlords and the politically corrupt and replacing them with a younger, more educated generation of politicians.

Afghanistan's deputy chief executive Mohammad Mohaqiq expressed outrage at the chaotic start to polling and assailed election preparation by the country's election commission. "The people rushed like a flood to the polling stations, but the election commission employees were not present, and in some cases they were there but there were no electoral materials and in most cases the biometric systems was not working," he said. "The widespread reports today of confusion and incompetence in the administration of the elections ... suggest that bureaucratic failures and lack of political will to prioritise organising credible parliamentary elections may do more to delegitimise the election results than threats and violent attacks by the Taliban and Daesh," said Andrew Wilder, vice-president of Asia Programs at the US Institute of Peace, using the Arabic acronym name for the Islamic State group. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani marked his ballot at the start of voting. In a televised speech afterward, he congratulated Afghans on another election and praised the security forces, particularly the air force, for getting ballots to Afghanistan's remotest corners. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart," he said, also reminding those elected that they are there to serve the people and ensure the rule of law.

North of Kabul, thousands of outraged voters blocked a road after waiting more than five hours for a polling station to open, said Mohammad Azim, the governor of Qarabagh district where the demonstration took place. Election Commission Commissioner Abdul Badi Sayat said dozens of teachers who had been trained in the new biometric system had not shown up for work at the polling stations. It wasn't clear whether that was related to a Taliban warning directed specifically at teachers and students telling them to stay away from the polls. "The long lines at many polling stations today, despite the threats and violent attacks by the Taliban and Daesh, clearly demonstrate that the problem with Afghan elections is not the enthusiasm of Afghan voters for a democratic future," said Mr Wilder. The Defence Ministry said it had increased its deployment of National Security Forces to 70,000 from the original 50,000 to protect polling stations. </s> KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber struck an election rally in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province on Tuesday, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 30, a provincial official said. The attack, the…

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber struck an election rally in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province on Tuesday, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 30, a provincial official said.

The attack, the first since campaigning began last week ahead of the elections for the lower house of parliament, underscored the widespread violence gripping the country 17 years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban.

The vote is scheduled for Oct. 20 but it’s unclear if the balloting will go ahead in areas controlled by the Taliban.

Tuesday’s attack took place in Nangarhar’s district of Kama as supporters of Abdul Naser Mohmand gathered in the afternoon to back his campaign as an independent candidate in the elections.

According to Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, some of the wounded were in critical condition, which added to concerns the death toll could rise further.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but both the resurgent Taliban and Afghanistan’s Islamic State affiliate are active in Nangarhar.

“Most of the people killed or wounded are elders who had gathered for the campaign rally,” said Khogyani.

The election campaign kicked off last Friday with 2,565 candidates vying for a seat in the 249-member chamber, including 417 women candidates.

In the run-up to campaigning, five candidates were killed in separate attacks, including two in Kabul and one each in Nangarhar, southern Kandahar and northern Parwan province.

Also, officials from the country’s Independent Election Commission said that two candidates were abducted and their fates remain unknown while three others were wounded in attacks.

Separately, Afghan security forces killed three bodyguards of an independent parliamentary candidate during a raid on a house near his residence in the eastern Kunar province on Sunday.

But the security challenges are not the only worries ahead of the elections. A number of political parties and opposition groups have expressed concerns over the transparency of the vote, leading to demands that a biometrics system be used to register voters — a first in Afghanistan’s history.

In Afghanistan, the parliament includes both a lower and an upper house, but only members of the lower house are directly elected. The upper house consists of a mixture of parliamentarians chosen from local councils and those appointed by the president, as well as members elected in district elections.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. </s> Kabul, Afghanistan - Parliamentary election in Afghanistan's Kandahar province due to be held on Saturday, will be delayed by a week following the assassination of a powerful provincial police commander, according to the electoral body and the president's spokesman.

President Ashraf Ghani's spokesman Haroon Chakansuri told Al Jazeera the decision was made following demands from local people in the the province and recommendation from electoral officials.

The suspension of the polls comes following the assassination of Kandahar province's police chief General Abdul Raziq in an attack claimed by Taliban.

The southern province's intelligence chief, Abdul Mohmin, was also killed in the attack on Thursday.

Chakansuri said date for the poll will be announced later without giving further details.

Afghans will be voting on Saturday to elect members of parliament in polls delayed repeatedly for the past three years.

The interior ministry said they have put in place measures to ensure voting happens without incidents.

"The election is going according to plan. We have measures and we meet regularly. There will be no problem," Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, told Al Jazeera.

"Over 70,000 security forces are there to maintain security. They are on high alert," Rahimi said. </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption Posters in Kabul. Campaigning for the 20 October election began on Friday

A suicide attacker has killed 13 people and injured more than 30 at an election rally in Nangarhar province - the first major attack on campaigning since it began last Friday.

Supporters of parliamentary candidate Abdel Naser Momand had gathered in Kama district when the blast happened.

The parliamentary election will be held on 20 October and there have been threats of violence.

Both the Taliban and the Islamic State group have urged a boycott of the vote.

Provincial governor Ataullah Khogyani told AFP that Mr Momand had survived the attack, but did not say if he was injured.

The force of the blast reportedly caused the ceiling to collapse on the crowd of about 250 people.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Recent reports suggest this has been the deadliest year in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion, with around 20,000 people - civilians and combatants - thought to have been killed.

The run-up to the vote has seen an increase in violence, with militants vowing to disrupt it.

More than 2,500 candidates are reportedly standing in the election. </s> Critical election in Afghanistan beset by chaos, violence at polls

KABUL — Afghanistan’s first parliamentary elections in eight years suffered from violence and confusion Saturday, with a multitude of attacks by militants killing at least 36 people, key election workers failing to show up and many polling stations staying open hours later than scheduled to handle long lines of voters.

Problems surrounding the elections — already three years overdue — threaten to compromise the credibility of polls, which an independent monitoring group said were also marred by incidences of ballot stuffing and intimidation by armed men affiliated with candidates in 19 of the country’s 32 provinces. Some areas have yet to vote, including Kandahar, where the provincial police chief was gunned down Thursday.

Stakes were high in these elections for Afghans who hoped to reform Parliament, challenging the dominance of warlords and the corrupt and replacing them with a younger, more educated generation of politicians. They were also high for the U.S., which is still seeking an exit strategy after 17 years of a war with the Taliban and other extremists that has cost more than $900 billion and claimed more than 2,400 U.S. service personnel.

Deputy Interior Minister Akhtar Mohammed Ibrahimi said 36 people were killed in 193 insurgent attacks across the country. Security forces killed 31 insurgents.

The most serious attack on the polls was in a northern Kabul neighborhood where a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing three people and wounding 20 others, many seriously, said Dr. Esa Hashemi, a physician at the nearby Afghan Hospital.

Polling stations also struggled with voter registration and a new biometric system that was aimed at stemming fraud, but instead created enormous confusion because many of those trained on the system did not show up for work.

“The widespread reports today of confusion and incompetence in the administration of the elections ... suggest that bureaucratic failures and lack of political will to prioritize organizing credible parliamentary elections may do more to delegitimize the election results than threats and violent attacks by the Taliban and Daesh,” said Andrew Wilder, vice-president of Asia Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace, using the Arabic acronym name for the Islamic State group.

Results of Saturday’s voting will not be released before mid-November and final results will not be out until December.

Rahim Faiez, Amir Shah and Kathy Gannon are Associated Press writers. </s> A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd outside a voter registration centre in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday, killing four people and wounding at least 15 in the latest attack on the centres.

The assaults underscore growing concerns about security in the lead-up to legislative elections scheduled for October 20.

“It happened at the entrance gate of the centre. It was a suicide attack. There are casualties,” Dawood Amin, city police chief, told AFP.

Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish confirmed the death toll but put the number of wounded at 20.

The centre was also being used by people to register for national identification certificates.

The attack happened in a heavily Shiite-populated neighbourhood in the west of the city. Footage on Ariana TV showed pools of blood and shattered glass on the street.

Angry crowds shouted “Death to the government!” and “Death to the Taliban!” There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Photos posted on social media purportedly of the site showed several bodies on the ground and a badly damaged two-storey building.

Afghanistan began registering voters on April 14 for the long-delayed legislative elections, which are seen as a test-run for the presidential poll next year.

Election officials have acknowledged that security is a major concern as the Taliban and other militant groups control or contest large swathes of the country.

Afghan police and troops have been tasked with protecting polling centres, even as they struggle to get the upper hand against insurgents on the battlefield.

Militants on Friday launched rockets at a voter registration centre in the northwestern province of Badghis.

At least one police officer was killed and another person was wounded, officials said, blaming the Taliban.

On Tuesday gunmen attacked a voter registration centre in the central province of Ghor, kidnapping three election workers and two policemen.

Over the next two months, authorities hope to register up to 14 million adults at more than 7,000 polling centres for the parliamentary and district council elections.

Officials have been pushing people to register amid fears a low turnout will undermine the credibility of the polls.

President Ashraf Ghani last week urged religious leaders to use Friday prayers to encourage worshippers to sign up.

He also called on provincial governors to tell their employees to register themselves and family members. </s> Afghanistan’s first parliamentary elections in eight years suffered from violence and chaos Saturday, with a multitude of attacks killing at least 36 people, key election workers failing to show up and many polling stations staying open hours later than scheduled to handle long lines of voters.

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Problems surrounding the elections – already three years overdue – threaten to compromise the credibility of polls which an independent monitoring group said were also marred by incidences of ballot stuffing and intimidation by armed men affiliated with candidates in 19 of the country’s 32 provinces. Some areas have yet to vote, including Kandahar, where the provincial police chief was gunned down Thursday.

Stakes were high in these elections for Afghans who hoped to reform Parliament, challenging the dominance of warlords and the politically corrupt and replacing them with a younger, more educated generation of politicians. They were also high for the U.S., which is still seeking an exit strategy after 17 years of a war there that has cost more than $900 billion and claimed more than 2,400 U.S. service personnel.

Deputy Interior Minister Akhtar Mohammed Ibrahimi said 36 people were killed in 193 insurgent attacks across the country: 27 civilians, eight police officers and one Afghan soldier. He said attackers used everything from grenades to small arms fire to mortars and rocket launchers, and that security forces killed 31 insurgents.

The most serious attack on the polls was in a northern Kabul neighbourhood where a suicide bomber blew himself up just as voting was about to end, killing three people and wounding another 20, many of them seriously, said Dr. Esa Hashemi, a physician at the nearby Afghan Hospital. Interior and defence ministry officials said 15 people were killed or wounded, including several police.

Polling stations also struggled with voter registration and a new biometric system that was aimed at stemming fraud, but instead created enormous confusion because many of those trained on the system did not show up for work. Also, the biometric machines were received just a month before polls and there was no time to do field testing.

Many polling stations opened as much as five hours behind schedule. The Independent Election Commission was uncertain how many of the estimated 21,000 polling stations closed by 4 p.m. local time, the original closing time. Polling was extended until 8 p.m. local time for all those polling stations that opened late, and those that could not open before 1 p.m. local time will open Sunday.

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Afghanistan’s deputy chief executive Mohammad Mohaqiq expressed outrage at the chaotic start to polling and assailed election preparation by the country’s election commission.

“The people rushed like a flood to the polling stations, but the election commission employees were not present, and in some cases they were there but there were no electoral materials and in most cases the biometric systems was not working,” he said.

“The widespread reports today of confusion and incompetence in the administration of the elections … suggest that bureaucratic failures and lack of political will to prioritize organizing credible parliamentary elections may do more to delegitimize the election results than threats and violent attacks by the Taliban and Daesh,” said Andrew Wilder, vice-president of Asia Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace, using the Arabic acronym name for the Islamic State group.

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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani marked his ballot at the start of voting. In a televised speech afterward, he congratulated Afghans on another election and praised the security forces, particularly the air force, for getting ballots to Afghanistan’s remotest corners.

“I thank you from the bottom of my heart,” he said, also reminding those elected that they are there to serve the people and ensure the rule of law.

North of Kabul, thousands of outraged voters blocked a road after waiting more than five hours for a polling station to open, said Mohammad Azim, the governor of Qarabagh district where the demonstration took place.

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Election Commission Commissioner Abdul Badi Sayat said dozens of teachers who had been trained in the new biometric system had not shown up for work at the polling stations. It wasn’t clear whether that was related to a Taliban warning directed specifically at teachers and students telling them to stay away from the polls.

“The long lines at many polling stations today, despite the threats and violent attacks by the Taliban and Daesh, clearly demonstrate that the problem with Afghan elections is not the enthusiasm of Afghan voters for a democratic future,” said Wilder.

The Defence Ministry said it had increased its deployment of National Security Forces to 70,000 from the original 50,000 to protect polling stations.

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Elections in the provinces of Kandahar and Ghazni have been delayed as well as in 11 of the country’s nearly 400 districts.

The Independent Election Commission registered 8.8 million people. Wasima Badghisy, a commission member, called voters “very, very brave” and said a turnout of five million would be a success.

At a polling station in crowded west Kabul, Khoda Baksh said he arrived nearly two hours early to cast his vote, dismissing Taliban threats of violence.

READ MORE: Head of Islamic State in Afghanistan killed in joint strike

“We don’t care about their threats. The Taliban are threatening us all the time,” said 55-year-old Baksh, who said he wanted to see a new generation of politicians take power in Afghanistan’s 249-seat Parliament. He bemoaned the current Parliament dominated by warlords and corrupt elite. “They have done zero for us.”

In the run-up to the elections, two candidates were killed while polling in Kandahar was delayed for a week after a rogue guard gunned down the powerful provincial police chief, Gen. Abdul Raziq. In the capital of Kabul, security was tight, with police and military personnel stopping vehicles at dozens of checkpoints throughout the congested city.

Commission deputy spokesman Aziz Ibrahimi said results of Saturday’s voting will not be released before mid-November and final results will not be out until later in December. </s> A suicide bomber blew himself up at an election rally in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar on Tuesday, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 30, Reuters reported, citing officials. Campaigning for the October 20 parliamentary election began on Friday. Security officials have warned of the danger of militant attacks during the campaigning. “Elders were speaking at the meeting when there was suddenly a huge blast,” said witnesses who were attending the meeting in Kama district, outside the provincial capital Jalalabad.
After a delay of three years, voters in Afghanistan head to the polls to elect members of the nation's parliament. The election is marred by violence and suicide attacks which leave over 170 dead or wounded nationwide.