20 August 2009 - 5:21 pm: Political party agents and candidates in Bamyan carried out an active observation process today.

“A total of 4,725 candidates and political party agents have been accredited to monitor the election in Bamyan,” said Ali Yawar Aliyar, the External Relations Officer of the Independent Election Commission in Bamyan.

“The agents and observers are allowed to observe all polling processes but they cannot watch the voter while the ballots are being marked,” added Mr Aliyar.

“We are monitoring the polls to make sure the process is transparent,” said Farzana,18, who is represented a Bamyan provincial council candidate at the Shirin Hazara School polling site.

“We know that our presence is important to make sure that all the procedures are implemented,” added Farzana.

Hawa Jaffari, the chairperson of the Shirin Hazara School polling site said she was happy about the agents.

“We are happy to have so many agents in our polling site, we are showing to them that the elections are transparent,” Jaffari added.

By Jaffar Rahim, UNAMA