Top UN envoy congratulates Afghans as they throng to polling centres

5 Apr 2014

Top UN envoy congratulates Afghans as they throng to polling centres

KABUL - As Afghans throng to polling centres across the country today to elect a successor to President Hamid Karzai and members of 34 Provincial Councils, the top United Nations official in the country has congratulated the people of Afghanistan for participating in the country’s “historic moment.”

“We are receiving reports that many people are showing their wish to vote; they are queuing in places all around the country,” the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Afghanistan, Ján Kubiš, told journalists while on a visit to a polling centre in the capital, Kabul. “This is indeed both a signal and manifestation of the maturity of the people of Afghanistan."

Expressing his hope that “everything will work well,” the UN envoy said that he also hoped “that at the end of the day, we will be able to say this is really a historic moment, opening a totally new chapter for the country.”

The UN is providing technical support to the Afghan authorities, at their request, in the organization of the Afghan-led and Afghan-managed elections, which UN officials have described as critical to Afghanistan’s future stability and continued international support. On the eve of the elections, senior UN officials – including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Mr. Kubiš – called on Afghans to participate in the polls.

In response to a question on the poll’s transparency, the UN envoy noted that this is a “requirement” and that officials from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which he heads, had in their past discussions with the Afghan electoral bodies – the Independent Election Commission and the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission - urged “full transparency” in the polls.

Photo: Fardin Waezi / UNAMA

“We have been doing it before and we are doing it now as well. And I can tell you that both chairmen of these two commissions are telling us ‘yes, we are working and will be working in a fully transparent way because this is one of the most important elements that will instill confidence in the process, but (also) in the results,’” said Mr. Kubiš.

“The question of transparency of the work of these two electoral institutions is very important," he added, "and it is necessary that the candidates and the public request full transparency from these two institutions when they adjudicate complaints.”

Throughout today, since the poll opened, voters throughout Afghanistan braved inclement weather and security threats to cast their ballots.

“I am hopeful for the future – I have lots of children and I vote for the future of my children,” said 70-year-old Haji Awlia Qul, in the north-eastern Afghan province of Kunduz. “It doesn’t matter even if I die for this. The important thing is the bright future of my children. I vote for their better future and for the wellbeing of my grandchildren.”

Women voters in the capital, Kabul. Photo: Zachary Golestani

“Today, I came to vote and my aim is to elect the next president,” said a female voter in central Bamyan province, Zakia. “Every citizen of this country has the right to vote and elect their president. I hope the next president can bring peace in the country.”

According to the Independent Election Commission (IEC), polling took place in 6,218 polling centres across the country, while a further 205 polling centres – that were originally scheduled to be kept open – were closed down due to the failure to dispatch necessary polling materials in light of adverse security developments. Last week, the IEC said it planned to have only 748 polling centres unopened.

Media reports suggested some polling centres ran out of ballot papers in Kabul and other provinces. However, speaking at a news conference this afternoon, the head of the IEC, Ahmed Yusuf Nuristani, said that more ballot papers were sent to those polling centres.

[Click here for the full text of Mr. Kubiš's comments at the media encounter]