Afghan presidential polls postponed

By Xinhua,

Kabul : The Afghan presidential election has been postponed till Aug 20, the country’s Independent Election Commission said here Thursday.

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Azizullah Loden, the commission’s chief, told reporters that although the election should be held in April 2009 by the constitution, the decision was made primarily because of security concerns.

Given the security situation, the postponement is allowed, he said.

Earlier, the election commission has pointed out that the lack of money, cold weather and militancy in southern and eastern region made the presidential election impossible to be held on time.

Taliban militants fighting against the government have called on Afghans to boycott the election and attacked those working on voter registration.