Anguish turns to anger after deadly Kabul bomb at voter registration centre
Hundreds of grieving Afghans buried their loved ones in Kabul yesterday amid growing anger over a suicide attack on a voter registration centre that killed 57 people, including children, and wounded more than 100.
The bomber blew himself up on Sunday morning in a large crowd queuing to collect national ID certificates so they could register to vote in long-delayed parliamentary elections scheduled for October.
The blast, claimed by ISIS, took place in a Shiite-populated neighbourhood.
Anguish quickly turned to anger on social media as Afghans blamed the government for failing to protect its people, which has become a common complaint after such attacks.
A Facebook user, Aminullah, posted: “This government is intentionally creating chaos to continue their term illegally. The only way forward is to vote and get rid of this corrupt government.”
Funerals for some of the victims began hours after the attack on Sunday, with more people buried yesterday.
The attack was the most recent in a series of assaults on voter registration centres in the country, fuelling concern about the effect it might have on the turnout for the parliamentary and district council elections.
Centres in the central province of Ghor and the northwest province of Badghis have been attacked since voter registration began on April 14.
Over the next two months, authorities hope to register up to 14 million adults at more than 7,000 polling centres.
Officials fear a low turnout will undermine the credibility of the polls, which are regarded as a test run for next year’s presidential vote. Independent Election Commission spokesman Shafi Jalali said Sunday’s attack would not hinder preparations.
“The process has not been interrupted and it will continue,” Mr Jalali said.
But commission member Mohazullah Daulati acknowledged that officials were concerned.
“We hope the security forces prevent such terrorist attacks in future so that people can register to vote in a peaceful environment,” Mr Daulati said.
Meanwhile in eastern Afghanistan, officials said yesterday that three brothers had been beheaded by ISIS militants in Nangarhar province.