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Immediate action needed to keep deadline for future elections in Afghanistan, OSCE report says
VIENNA 21 October 2004
VIENNA, 21 October 2004 - Immediate action is necessary by the Afghan authorities and electoral body if deadlines are to be met to prepare for the next round of elections, says a report presented to the public by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) today.
"There is no question that the parliamentary, provincial and district elections scheduled for next Spring will be much more difficult to administer than the Presidential elections were," Ambassador Robert Barry, the Head of the OSCE Election Support Team for Afghanistan, told the 55-nation OSCE Permanent Council today.
"If the newly elected President and his Government are to meet this deadline, immediate action is necessary. Inaction will make postponement of parliamentary elections inevitable."
The OSCE Election Support Team was mandated to assess and analyze the electoral process of the 9 October presidential elections in Afghanistan. Its report consists of a set of recommendations that lay out a road map of steps necessary to prepare for parliamentary elections currently scheduled for May 2005.
"The first OSCE mission for election support in a partner country at a decisive stage of its development has proved to be a success", said Ambassador Ivo Petrov, the Chairman of the OSCE Permanent Council.
"It is our expectation that the 18 October report with recommendations of the Team will provide the Afghan authorities with useful guidance in the post-election period for further improvement of the election legislation and procedures for future elections," he said.
Ambassador Petrov commended the team for their professional and dedicated work. "With this team, the OSCE has brought to use hidden resources and has demonstrated its potential for rendering support to democratic processes out of its own geographic area," he said.
The Team's recommendations emphasized that some fundamental decisions needed to be taken swiftly with regard to the method of election, the designation of constituencies, the formation of electoral commissions, voter registration, and legal and regulatory reform.
The OSCE Team also recommended to involve the Organization's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to set up training and capacity-building programmes for Afghan election administrators and to assist with the formation of an association of election officials similar to those in other OSCE States.
The Election Support Team comprised 42 election experts who were deployed one week before election day to Kabul and Afghanistan's seven other regional centres as well as to the provincial capital Faizabad. It focused in particular on electoral aspects such as voter registration, the performance of electoral commissions, vote count and tabulation, and the complaint and appeal procedures.
"There is no question that the parliamentary, provincial and district elections scheduled for next Spring will be much more difficult to administer than the Presidential elections were," Ambassador Robert Barry, the Head of the OSCE Election Support Team for Afghanistan, told the 55-nation OSCE Permanent Council today.
"If the newly elected President and his Government are to meet this deadline, immediate action is necessary. Inaction will make postponement of parliamentary elections inevitable."
The OSCE Election Support Team was mandated to assess and analyze the electoral process of the 9 October presidential elections in Afghanistan. Its report consists of a set of recommendations that lay out a road map of steps necessary to prepare for parliamentary elections currently scheduled for May 2005.
"The first OSCE mission for election support in a partner country at a decisive stage of its development has proved to be a success", said Ambassador Ivo Petrov, the Chairman of the OSCE Permanent Council.
"It is our expectation that the 18 October report with recommendations of the Team will provide the Afghan authorities with useful guidance in the post-election period for further improvement of the election legislation and procedures for future elections," he said.
Ambassador Petrov commended the team for their professional and dedicated work. "With this team, the OSCE has brought to use hidden resources and has demonstrated its potential for rendering support to democratic processes out of its own geographic area," he said.
The Team's recommendations emphasized that some fundamental decisions needed to be taken swiftly with regard to the method of election, the designation of constituencies, the formation of electoral commissions, voter registration, and legal and regulatory reform.
The OSCE Team also recommended to involve the Organization's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to set up training and capacity-building programmes for Afghan election administrators and to assist with the formation of an association of election officials similar to those in other OSCE States.
The Election Support Team comprised 42 election experts who were deployed one week before election day to Kabul and Afghanistan's seven other regional centres as well as to the provincial capital Faizabad. It focused in particular on electoral aspects such as voter registration, the performance of electoral commissions, vote count and tabulation, and the complaint and appeal procedures.