Azizullah, a 22-year-old from Nangarhar, is so happy to vote in September’s parliamentary elections that he is planning on doing so multiple times.

“I have taken five voter registration cards so that I can vote five times for my favorite candidate,” he grinned. “I did it in the last elections, too.”

In Afghanistan, where documents like birth certificates often do not exist and where there has not been a valid census for decades, keeping track of voters can be a challenge. In previous elections certain abuses were noted – some potential voters just went to various registration centers and received multiple cards under different names and addresses. Some took cards for female members of their families who simply did not exist – in the more conservative parts of the country, women were not required to show up in person to receive their cards, and they were also not required to have photographs taken.

On Election Day, the voter would simply go from polling station to polling station, casting as many votes as he or she had cards. The card is punched at the polling center, and the voter has to dip his or her finger into a bottle of supposedly indelible ink. But in several locations the ink washed off easily, allowing enterprising voters to go through the process again with a new card.

This will not happen in September’s poll, insists Ahmad Wali Amin, the head of the Nangarhar branch of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), which is overseeing the process.

“A special team has been formed to oversee the process and avoid the problems we had in the past,” he said. “We are using high-quality indelible ink to avoid multiple voting. We are trying to conduct a clear and transparent election, and we will take action against violators.”

But there will always be people like Sahil, who took two cards and hopes to vote twice.

“I want to be able to help the candidate of my choice,” he said.

The IEC is now begun the voter registration process, to issue voter registration cards to new voters and to those who say they have lost their old cards.

Candidates are concerned that the issuance of multiple cards to any one voter could call the transparency of the entire process into question.

“According to the Constitution, any individual 18 or older has the right to vote, but no one can vote more than once,” said Abdul Naser Shafeeq, a candidate who is running from Nangarhar “It is against the principles of the election to have more than one card.”

Lal Badshah Ulfat, another candidate for Parliament, agrees.

“There is no need for multiple voting cards,” he said. “This damages the transparency of the elections. The IEC and other relevant bodies should take action to stop this abuse.”

Faridon, a 25-year-old voter from Nangarhar, is indignant about those who are trying to circumvent the process.

“I have one card to vote for a candidate who is loyal to his or her country and who prefers national interests to his or her personal interests,” he said. “Having multiple cards gives no benefit to the people of Afghanistan.”