KABUL - Afghanistan’s electoral commission, as well as national election observation bodies, are gearing up for the mobilization of thousands of national and international observers for the upcoming Presidential and Provincial Council elections, slated for 5 April.

The spokesperson for the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC), Noor Mohammad Noor, said the Afghan body responsible for organizing the vote is planning to approve more than 300,000 observers, including “media persons and other guests,” for the poll.

“Election observation is so important because it is needed to ensure a transparent election,” said Mr. Noor, emphasizing the significance of the April election, which is often described in the some parts of the Afghan media as a “destiny-making” political process for the country. The vote will mark the transfer of power from one elected president to another for the first time in Afghanistan's history.

The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the country, Ján Kubiš, has lauded preparations for the poll. In his quarterly briefing to the UN Security Council last month, Mr. Kubiš said technical preparations and political momentum for election day remain “on track and is further advanced than in previous polls.”

“Political transition is at the very core of these efforts with next year’s Presidential elections to mark a historic democratic transfer of power. The critical importance of holding credible polls on time and in full accordance with the Constitution is widely appreciated,” said Mr. Kubiš.

While urging each candidate for the polls to commit to a fair, clean and issues-based race, he noted that, “Observation efforts – not just on Election Day but of the environment leading up to polling and the compilation of results – can aid confidence. I urge Member States, together with regional and multilateral organizations, to contribute to efforts in this regard.”

The IEC’s Mr. Noor said that 126 national and international organizations have already given accreditation to send poll observers, and so far, some 1,400 observers have been registered.

One of such organizations is the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA), the largest election observer group in the country, which mobilized some 8,000 observers in the 2009 Presidential and Provincial Council elections.

The Chairman of FEFA, Nader Nadery, said the group plans to mobilize 10,000 observers in the April polls, covering about 75 per cent of all the polling centre. There were about 29,000 polling centres in the 2009 elections. Afghan authorities are yet to finalize the number for the April vote.

“We have observers in the most insecure areas of the country,” said Mr. Nadery. “They are everywhere.”

Mr. Noor also noted that many observers in the 2009 elections did not go to their designated polling centres, and said this was behind the IEC’s plan to specify in the observer passes for this year’s polls the precise polling centre location.