Kabul: Insurgent attacks killed 11 election workers involved in organising Thursday’s landmark elections in Afghanistan, the election commission announced on Friday.
"Unfortunately we have reports that 11 workers of the commission who were committed to conducting transparent, successful elections in the country have been killed since the start of preparations until Thursday," it said.
Nearly 120,500 Afghans were drafted in to organise the Presidential and Provincial Council Elections yesterday which the Taliban vowed to disrupt.
The commission gave no details of the victims or when and how they were killed, other than at the hands of "armed individuals" who are "enemies of peace and security" – a euphemism used by Afghan officials referring to the Taliban.
Afghan and Western leaders have hailed the ballot a success with far less violence than expected, although reports of poor turnout, irregularities and counter-claims of victory threaten to overshadow the official results.
Bureau Report
