Afghanistan: More Observers Needed to Safeguard Integrity of Presidential Poll

The upcoming Afghan presidential ballot could be subject to "interference" from both foreign and domestic sources, the Afghan Foreign Minister warns.

Rangin Dadfar Spanta said more election observers are needed to ensure the election on August 20 is free and fair.

"There is a possibility of interference from both foreign and domestic forces, [for example] local authorities in the provinces," news site Afghanistan.ru quoted him as saying on June 30.

"We intend to appeal to the Islamic world, Egypt, India and Asian countries to send election observers. We need a large number of observers from the international community to carry out transparent and free elections," he added.