Afghanistan to hold presidential elections

KABUL - The third Afghan presidential elections since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001 will be held on April 5, 2014, said an official with the country's election commission on Tuesday.

"The third presidential elections will be held on April 5, 2014," the official told Xinhua anonymously.

"The Independent Election Commission (IEC) will hold a press briefing on Wednesday morning and would announce the election calendar," she added.

The news came as the war-weary Afghans were in fears whether their national security forces will be ready to provide security for the elections as the date of the polls is months before the withdrawal of the NATO and US forces from the country which is set at the end of 2014.

However, Afghan President Hamid Karzai earlier this month assured the nation that the elections will be held on time in 2014 before his term as the president of Afghanistan will be ended.

Previously, Karzai had said that he had no resolve to seek election for the third time and he is not seeking any way to run the country.

Karzai took power as the first elected president of Afghanistan in December 2004 for a five-year term and his second term as elected president began in November 2009 for another five years.