Afghanistan: Polling extended after delays and violence

Voters lined up outside polling stations in Kabul on Sunday, October 21, after Afghanistan’s electoral commission announced that it would extend voting in the parliamentary elections in some parts of the country, as many polling stations failed to open on the first day of polling.

Many voting centers across the country opened late or not at all after being hit by terror attacks, as well as experiencing problems with the recently introduced biometric voting system and running out of voting materials.

Some Afghans waited hours to vote, only to be told the polling stations would not open. Polling stations were rocked by explosions after the polls opened on Saturday, with nearly 170 people across the country being killed or injured in election-related violence.