Afghanistan's embattled election organisers are considering delaying April's presidential ballot by three months, officials said Monday, as they struggle to tally votes cast in the recent legislative poll and resolve thousands of complaints.
The remarks come as the United States spearheads international efforts to engage the Taliban in peace talks to end the 17-year war that some had feared could be derailed by the April 20 presidential vote, which is expected to fiercely contested.
The ballot could be pushed back to July 13, spokesmen for the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) told reporters.
"There are legal and technical issues that should be addressed properly (if the vote is to be delayed)," ECC spokesman Ali Reza Rohani said.
"We have to see if the proposed new date of July 13 is practical and whether we have to hold four elections at once."