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Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) workers load plastic boxes of election materials from a warehouse to a truck in Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan, Oct. 18, 2018. More than 2,500 candidates are contesting the 249 seats of Wolesi Jirga, or the lower house of Afghan parliament, elections to be held on Saturday amid tight security. (Xinhua/Saifurahman Safi)
KABUL, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has encouraged all Afghan voters to file their fraud complaints with the related organs, in case of seeing or suspecting any fraud case during the upcoming parliamentary polls, UNANA said in a statement Thursday.
The long-delayed elections for Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of the Afghan parliament, are slated for Oct. 20 with more than 2,500 candidates vying for the chamber's 249 seats.
"All citizens should play an active, informed and constructive role in rooting out fraud," Tadamichi Yamamoto, special UN envoy and head of UN mission, was quoted in the statement.
The statement welcomed measures taken by Afghan election officials to tackle any fraud and irregularities during the polls.
Among the steps taken to ensure the transparency of the elections were a voting system in which voters can only cast their ballot in a single polling center at which they are registered, the planned implementation of a biometric voter verification system and deployment of up to 400,000 observers and candidates' agents, as well as political parties monitors, at the polling centers, the statement said.
The UNAMA said candidates should also bear a major responsibility of having their supporters not to commit fraud in their name.
"Fraud amounts to stealing the vote of a fellow Afghan citizen. This is unacceptable," said the statement, adding fraud was not in the interests of candidates, but would have the candidates' support credibility undermined.
According to the statement, Afghan Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) officials will be present in every polling center and the Afghan law enforcement agencies should investigate expeditiously, detain and prosecute those responsible where credible allegations are made.
During the upcoming polls, nearly 9 million registered voters, including 3 million women, will cast their ballots to elect members of the lower house of parliament for a five-year term.
Election officials recently canceled district councils election which was expected to be held together with the parliamentary polls.
