Afghan officials say confident of own forces' ability to provide security for April election

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan Security officials say they're confident the country's own forces will be able to provide security for the vast majority of polling stations in upcoming presidential elections.

Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said Saturday that a security assessment done for the election commission shows that 6,431 polling places out of 6,845 can already be guaranteed secure for the April 5 election.

The remaining 414 polling centers are in the process of being secured, Sediqqui said.

Officials say the April election will be the first for which Afghan security forces are responsible for security. Previous elections since 2004 have been secured by the U.S.-led international coalition.