KABUL - With 23 days left before Afghans go to the polls to elect a new President and Provincial Council members, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) highlights that taking part in elections is a basic human right for all people.

“Like all citizens of the world, Afghan men and women have a basic human right to freely choose their government and leaders without threat or intimidation,” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, Ján Kubiš. “Such participation is especially important for Afghanistan as it prepares for historic elections which will be important in helping shape the country's future direction.”

Afghanistan is slated to hold Presidential and Provincial Council elections on 5 April.

The country’s Constitution states that the country’s citizens have a fundamental right to “elect and be elected.”

Afghanistan also voted in favour of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives,” and that “everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.”

[You can download the pdf version of this press statement in English - Dari - Pashto]