The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC) on Wednesday officially opened the country’s elections results counting center in Kabul where they will tally the votes from Saturday’s parliamentary elections. 

This center will be the hub where all information from around the country, related to the elections, will be assessed and reviewed and where data and results will be captured. 

The IEC’s Chief Abdul Badi Sayyad on Wednesday dispelled rumors about vote rigging and said: “All allegations and rumors about changing the numbers are baseless, none of these employees are meddling, the material is scanned.” 

Up to 400 employees, among them 130 women, have been hired to do the work.

“Valid and invalid votes will be separated, the winner will be those who received (the most) votes from the people,” added Sayyad.

The center is made up of three sections, where election related data and information will be processed and then registered on the database. 

Some staff members said they had been employed based on their skills and that they had received adequate training.  

“I applied for this position through a free competition four months ago, then I received a call and I wrote an exam,” said one staff member, Naseeba.

The IEC chief meanwhile said he is confident that the commission’s staff will be able to announce the preliminary results on time.

Sayyad said the commission will stick to a mechanism to count valid votes and to determine spoiled votes. IEC secretariat meanwhile said the final decision will be made by the people and not by the IEC. 

On the issues about the use and non-usage of biometric devices on election day, he said many of these issues will be addressed. He also said security forces will help to transfer ballot boxes from provincial centers to Kabul. 

According to the IEC,  almost four million Afghans in 32 provinces voted during the two days of elections in the country. 

The IEC chief previously stated that 4,640 election centers opened on Saturday and Sunday.

The IEC is expected to announce the parliamentary elections results on November 6.