KABUL - With Afghanistan's Presidential and Provincial Council elections little more than a week away, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) notes that despite real security challenges progress is being made by the country's security forces in creating conditions for citizens to exercise their right to vote.

"Afghans are in the lead on providing security for the elections process," said the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and acting head of UNAMA, Nicholas Haysom. "The Afghan security forces have demonstrated their increased capabilities in the extensive preparations undertaken to give those Afghans who wish to vote the opportunity to do so.”

Mr. Haysom also emphasized that Afghans should not be intimidated or denied their right to choose their leaders and shape the country's future by the enemies of democracy.

The UN official made the comments following a meeting on Wednesday with Afghanistan's Minister of the Interior, Mohammad Omar Daudzai. The two men discussed national security preparations for the landmark Presidential and Provincial Council polls slated for 5 April.

For more than a year now, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) has led the coordination of a national security planning process for the elections with the Ministry of Defence and the National Directorate of Security, in consultation with the Independent Electoral Commission of Afghanistan.

The first security planning directive on elections was issued by the MOI in February 2013. This was followed by early and frequent security assessments of the polling centres by Afghan security agencies, numerous election security exercises, a much more significant deployment compared to previous elections of Afghan security forces in terms of troop numbers and better equipment, as well as ongoing operations to improve the elections security environment. The current size of Afghan security forces has doubled since the last Presidential elections and their capability has been much enhanced.

While fulfilling their critical role in providing security to the process, UNAMA notes that the Afghan security forces also have a responsibility to remain politically impartial in discharging their duties.

"As the security guardians of the vote, Afghan security forces must act in the national interest," Mr. Haysom said. "This would include remaining completely impartial between candidates and allowing access to the electoral process by independent observers and candidate and political party agents."