Representatives of well-known political parties in the country formed a joint council on Friday to support the voter registration process, elections and unity among the people in Badakhshan province.

The political parties include Hizb-e-Islami, Jamiat-e-Islami, Azadagan, the National Congress of Afghanistan, Hizb-e-Watan, the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan and national unity party.

The council said it will allow no one to forge in the upcoming elections.

“We have created national unity among all political parties in Badakhshan. We have agreed on a common vision about national interests of the country,” said Azizullah Amaniyar, representative of Hizb-e-Islami led by Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal.

“The political parties here have agreed to restore people’s trust in electoral process and to encourage them to register their names for voting in the coming elections,” said Manna Hashemi, head of Jamiat-e-Islami in Badakhshan.

Meanwhile, other members of the council said they will travel to different districts of Badakhshan to encourage people for voter registration process.  

“In the first days of our work, we will travel to different districts in order to raise public awareness on elections,” said Musawir, representative of National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan.

“These important and national parties of Afghanistan have agreed on implementation of national projects, overcoming unemployment and insecurity.

Hopefully, the consensus of political parties will improve in the province in near future,” said Samiullah Saihoon, representative of National Congress of Afghanistan.

Members of the council said another goal of their movement is to create an environment of tolerance and unity among the people to overcome challenges on the ground. 

This comes after head of the provincial office of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) Hamidullah Baluch said on Tuesday that of the 322 voter registration centers, 47 centers are closed and over 40 others face threats.

“Twenty (voter registration) centers are closed in one district and 27 centers have remained closed in another two districts which have fallen (to insurgents). And 13 centers which are under high and medium threats require military operations,” he said. “We are prepared to carry out the process in the other 232 centers.”

Badakhshan police however vowed to ensure the safety of all centers in the province.