KABUL - Addressing a seminar in the western Afghan city of Herat, a senior United Nations official stressed that a key principal for the international community’s approach on the country’s Presidential election in 2014 is that they be “Afghan-led and -owned.”

The Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, Nicholas Haysom, made the remarks on Saturday at the so-called ‘Herat Security Dialogue II,’ a gathering organized by the Afghanistan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) and to which academic and government representatives, amongst others, from central Asia, India, China, Egypt, Germany and the United States attended.

“What that means in particular for the international community is that its support is essentially for the best process – the best process under which these elections can be conducted – and not to interfere with a decision which should properly remain the decision of the Afghan public,” Mr. Haysom added in his comments at a panel discussion at the three-day event.

Afghanistan is preparing for Presidential elections on 5 April next year. Those polls coincide with elections for the country’s Provincial Councils; the following year, Afghanistan will hold elections for its National Assembly. The political transition coincides with security transition.

In June, the Afghan security forces, for the first time since 2001, started to assume full responsibility of securing their country from their international allies, who are ending their combat mission by the end of 2014.

United Nations officials have previously described next year’s elections as critical to the country’s future stability and continued international support.

“The elections are critical not only for domestic reasons, for reasons of establishing a legitimate government in Afghanistan and because Afghanistan needs a legitimate government, but also, critically, because the supporters of Afghanistan need elections to continue their support,” Mr. Haysom said.

While in Herat, the UN official also met with representatives from local government bodies, political parties and civil society organizations, and briefed them on the activities of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in relation to the upcoming elections, in addition to hearing their concerns.

AISS’ first Herat Security Dialogue was held in October 2012, drawing 80 participants from 30 countries.