WASHINGTON, July 1 (UPI) -- The United States Thursday downplayed reports that Afghanistan may further delay its first elections due in September.
"I've not heard any official word that that's the case," said White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan when asked for comments on media reports that the Afghan government may postpone the elections.
The United States, he said, would continue to support the electoral process in Afghanistan but the exact date of those elections "are determinations that will be made by the government in Afghanistan."
Afghan and U.N. officials told reporters in Kabul earlier Thursday the elections may be put off until mid-October. The elections were first due in July but were postponed for three months until September.
Afghan and U.N. organizers said they were not yet ready to hold the elections in September and need more time to complete their work.
State Department's deputy spokesman Adam Ereli told a separate briefing in Washington that more than 5.5 million Afghan voters had already been registered, at the rate of 100,000 voters a day.
Despite these assurances, officials in Kabul acknowledge increased terrorist activities continue to threaten the elections.
Earlier this week, NATO leaders agreed to send additional troops to Afghanistan during the elections.
