The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Thursday welcomed news that the finalized security report on polling sites around the country would be submitted in two days time and said that the move would help the election organizing body dispatch critical election materials to the provinces.
"On the basis of our commitment and timeline, we have finalized our assessments and will share it with the IEC on Saturday," Ministry of Interior (MoI) spokesman Sediq Sediqi said.
The IEC has maintained that its election preparations have progressed successfully until this stage, but that the final report from security organs on safety and security of the polling stations has a major significance. The report is expected to determine what areas get ballot materials, and to what extent.
The IEC requested the report be submitted by last Sunday, however, security officials were unable to meet that deadline.
"Definitely, we wont dispatch election materials such as ballot boxes, ballot papers and other necessary materials to a province until we are satisfied about the security," IEC Commissioner Sarir Ahmad Barmak said. "We have to be confident about the security of the polling stations first and then we will dispatch them, so we are waiting for the final report."
The IEC referred the list of polling stations to the security officials 14 months ago. Initially, from over 7,000 polling booths, 259 were said to be under serious threats.
There are some reports that an alternative would be found to those polling stations that remained risky, and perhaps they would be shifted to other locations. However, before any contingency plans can be rolled-out the IEC awaits the updated report.