Multiple explosions rocked polling centres across Kabul on Saturday, causing dozens of casualties, amid growing anger among voters as they waited hours to cast their ballots in long-delayed legislative elections.
At least 30 people have been taken to a trauma hospital run by the Italian NGO Emergency, including a dead child, the organisation said on Twitter, hours after the Taliban warned voters to boycott the ballot “to protect their lives”.
Afghan officials confirmed there have been casualties but would not provide a number.
An AFP correspondent saw voters fleeing a polling centre in the north of the Afghan capital following a blast that a witness said had caused a number of casualties.
Deadly violence has marred the shambolic preparations for the parliamentary election that is more than three years late, with hundreds killed or wounded.
The latest bombings are likely to scare off voters, hurting turn out and the credibility of the election.
Missing voter registration lists and hiccups with biometric voter verification devices — which are being used for the first time — already have caused lengthy delays at polling centres across the country, voters and candidates complained.
