Taliban Calls For Boycott Of Afghan Polls

Campaign posters in Herat Province 17 September 2005 -- Taliban rebels urged Afghans yesterday to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Purported Taliban spokesman Mullah Latif Hakimi called on Afghans to boycott the elections, but said Taliban insurgents would not attack civilians going to vote.

Candidate Killed

A candidate was killed on 15 September as Afghanistan concluded the final day of campaigning ahead of tomorrow's parliamentary polls.

Authorities in Helmand Province say suspected Taliban gunmen dragged candidate Abdul Hadi from his home and shot him dead. Hadi was the seventh candidate to be killed in attacks blamed on the Taliban.

A female candidate, Hawa Alam Nuristani, is in critical condition in a U.S. military hospital near Kabul after being shot on 14 September while campaigning in the eastern province of Nuristan.

(AP//RFE/RL)


For more on the Afghan elections, see RFE/RL Afghanistan Votes page.