Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) says it is fully prepared to hold the presidential elections on September 28.

“We give promise to the people of Afghanistan that we are fully prepared. We have completed all of our programs based on our policies,” said Hawa Alam Nuristani, the Chairwoman of IEC at a press conference on Wednesday.

Ms. Nuristani emphasized that taking the pictures of women in biometric devices is a must to ensure transparency and prevent from electoral fraud.

A senior official in the interior ministry said that 431 polling centers will remain closed due to security threats.

At the same event, Khushal sadat deputy interior minister for security said that the Afghan forces will maintain the security of nearly 5,000 polling centers on elections day.

On recent days, the IEC secretariat was accused of appointing officials based on nepotism and favoritism but officials rejected the claims.

“Every organization is welcomed to assess the recruitment process of the IEC secretariat if they found anything illegal I will step down,” said Abdul Rahman Nang, the Chief of IEC Secretariat.

However, a senior IEC official expressed his concern regarding the lack of female staff members in nearly 450 polling centers.

“There are 11,000 polling stations for females but we couldn’t find female staffs for 450 stations in 21 provinces,” said Mohammad Hanif Danishyar, a commissioner of the IEC.

But IEC officials assured people of holding a transparent election, adding that they will also strive impartially.