Independent Provincial Council candidates work together to help ensure fair polls

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23 Jan 2014

Independent Provincial Council candidates work together to help ensure fair polls

KABUL - A group of independent candidates who are contesting Afghanistan’s upcoming elections for Provincial Council seats announced today the formation of a so-called ‘Cooperation Council’ in order to work collectively in efforts to mitigate fraud, the monitoring of the election process and advocating against any change to the electoral timetable.

“We want the timely conduct of the election and will launch an advocacy campaign against any disruption to the electoral timetable,” one of the founding members of the Cooperation Council, Haji Silab Waziri, said at the informal grouping’s launch in the capital, Kabul.

He added that the body was formed after conducting nationwide consultations with candidates for Provincial Council seats. So far, the Cooperation Council has one member from each of the country’s 34 provinces.

Afghanistan is slated to hold Presidential and Provincial Council elections on 5 April, for which preparations are in full swing. A total of 11 candidates are standing in the Presidential polls, while 2,713 candidates, 308 of them women, are vying for seats in the 34 Provincial Councils.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is mandated by the UN Security Council to support Afghan authorities, as requested, to ensure sustainability, integrity and inclusiveness of the electoral process.

At today’s gathering, Mr. Waziri said the newly-formed Council will work alongside civil society organizations to prevent any fraud and ensure the transparency and fairness of the elections.

Another member of the Cooperation Council, from the central Afghan province of Bamyan, Tayyaba Khawari, highlighted what she described as “negative competition” among the candidates of the upcoming polls, claiming that some candidates are distributing money to secure public support.

Ms. Khawari also urged government officials to stay neutral during the entire election process.

“We came together to make a strong voice and advocate in purely civil ways for the transparency and fairness of the elections,” said Ms. Khawari.

She also called for candidates to engage in “positive competition” and respect each other during the election campaigning, as well as uphold the Afghan Constitution and other laws of the country.