KABUL - Residents of different provinces have asked the authorities concerned for opening closed polling centres in the runoff presidential elections, an official said on Monday.

A number of voting centres remained closed due to insecurity in the first round of the elections on April 5. People say they should be either reopened or shifted to secure areas.

Officials say they have put in place effective measures to open the polling sites.  Kunar Governor Shujaul Mulk Jalala promised all polling centres in the province would be kept open as in the runoff vote.

The five polling centres that stayed closed in the previous round would be opened, he said, recalling 114,500 people had cast their votes at the 91 voting centres that were open across the province.

Paktika police chief, Brig. Gen. Nabi Jan Mullahkhel, acknowledged a smaller number of women had voted in the first round of polls. He assured the runoff would be more secure than the previous one. In the past elections, 266 polling centres were kept functional in the first round.

Khost police head, Col. Faizullah Ghairat, said security forces would keep insurgents at bay in the second round. Clearing operations were conducted in various parts of the province over the past week.

Logar residents called shifting some polling centres to peaceful areas from insecure parts.  During the first round, 18 of the 83 voting centres in Charkh, Baraki Barak, Kharwar, Azra and Khoshi districts remained closed.

Haji Mohammad Siddique, a resident of Porak area, said a polling station set up in the town was five kilometres from his house. The remaining centres had been established in insecure areas, he complained.

Bismillah, from the Babur area of Azra district, said: “We were literally denied our voting right in the previous polls, because all voting centres were set up in insecure areas.”

But Logar Election Commission head, Dr. Niamatullah, said: “We will try to keep functional all voting centres on Election Day.” (Pajhwok)