KABUL -- Afghan insurgents are exploring how to disrupt the Nov. 7 presidential runoff, and some commanders are proposing that they target polling sites, sparking fears that thousands of voters will stay home again on Election Day.
"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan urges the people of Afghanistan to not participate in the elections, and once again prove that they are true believers," the group said in a statement Saturday emailed to The Wall Street Journal, using a name referring to the Taliban and allied groups.
An Afghan policeman searches a vehicle at a checkpoint in Kabul on Sunday. The Taliban have threatened violence to disrupt November's runoff election, though insurgent commanders say the movement is divided on whether polling centers should be attacked directly.
U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Tommy Groves, a spokesman for North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, said Sunday that international forces and the Afghan government will do their best to prevent voting from being disrupted.
A spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, Zamarai Bashary, said the government "will work to prevent the enemies of Afghanistan from disrupting the polls."
Low turnout on Nov. 7 could deepen the crisis of credibility facing the Afghan government and its Western backers, who have been mired in a disputed, fraud-ridden election process for more than two months.
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