KABUL - The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Sunday launched voter registration process for the 2014 presidential and provincial council elections simultaneously in Kabul and provincial capitals across the country.

A total of 4.5 million eligible people would get voter cards, IEC spokesman, Noor Mohammad Noor, told a press conference in Kabul.

He said those reaching the age of 18 years until April 5, 2014, the election day, and those above the age of 18 years and those not registered previously would get new cards.

Also returning refugees and individuals who have lost their previous cards or whose cards had significantly damaged would receive fresh cards, he added.

The cards would also be given to those who did not obtain registration documents in the past or have moved from one electoral constituency to another.

Dozens people, including women, on Sunday arrived at the Abdul Ali Mustaghni high school designated as a registration center to obtain voter cards. They were asked to show ID cards or passports.

“I want to vote for an honest person in the upcoming presidential elections,” Mohammad Zahir, a 25-year-old, said He had lost his previous card.

A computer science student at Kabul University, Liaqat, said he failed to get a voter card in the previous elections.

Noor said the election commission had taken all necessary measures to ensure a transparent conduct of the registration process and prevent fraud.

He said they had established 41 registration centers, including three in Kabul, two each in seven zones and one each in provinces. The registration process would be expanded to all districts of 34 provinces in next two months, he said.

He said the process was estimated to cost $120 million pledged by the US, European countries and Turkey.

The Ministry of Interior on Saturday assuaged the election commission's concerns about security for voter registration centers, saying the election body should not worry about that. (Pajhwok)