Turnout of Afghan parliamentary poll over 50 percent

Preliminary estimates indicate that over 50 percent of more than 12 million Afghans cast their votes in the landmark parliamentary elections Sunday, a senior electoral official said Monday.

"Preliminary reports from 35 percent of polling stations indicate that the turn out was about six million and therefore I can say that the turn out seems to be just over 50 percent," Peter Erben, Chief Electoral Officer of the Joint Electoral Management Body, told reporters at a press conference.

He also acknowledged that this time the turnout was lower than last year's presidential elections.

"This is lower than last year. We had 7.3 million voters in last year's presidential elections and the turnout was 67 percent," he said.

However, he was happy with this year's election and said, "We consider the turnout of this year's election satisfactory in compare with other countries," the official noted.

He also termed the election as major success for the war-weary Afghans.

The turnout in the post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992 parliamentary elections, he added, was 55 percent while in Colombia 42 percent.

However, he added that the turnout in Afghan parliamentary elections could be changed as the reports from polling stations across the country are arriving.

Over 12.5 million Afghans had registered to vote in the historic parliamentary elections to elect the members of parliament and provincial councils in the post-Taliban nation.

Final result of the landmark poll is going to be announced on Oct. 22.

Source: Xinhua