KABUL - The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura met today with Fazel Ahmad Manawi, the new Chairperson of the Independent Election Commission (IEC).دری و پشتو

Mr de Mistura congratulated Mr Manawi on his appointment, noting that it had been broadly welcomed and he was looking forward to working with him in the months ahead.

Mr de Mistura referred to the Implementation Guidelines for the elections that had been discussed by the United Nations with the President, Members of Parliament, Afghan political stakeholders and the international community to ensure that the elections were as transparent as possible. Mr de Mistura added that these elections must be an improvement on the previous elections of last year and the purpose of the agreed Guidelines is to provide the IEC with the clarity that it will need in order to move forward with electoral preparations.

Mr de Mistura also said that with the appointment of Mr Manawi and the endorsement of the Implementation Guidelines, he had recommended to the international community that they release funds as soon as feasible to allow electoral operations to begin.

Mr de Mistura pledged the full technical and logistical support of the United Nations to the upcoming parliamentary elections, again stressing that these were Afghan elections, run by Afghan institutions.