KABUL - The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ján Kubiš, today met the Chairman of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), Ahmed Yusuf Nuristani, and briefed him on the Security Council meeting on Afghanistan held earlier this week and its subsequent presidential statement on the country’s elections.

Among other points, the Council’s presidential statement stated that the 15-member body: “calls upon Afghan electoral institutions [the IEC and the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission] to uphold the highest standards of integrity throughout this important and historic process, and emphasizes that all efforts must be made to ensure the integrity, neutrality and transparency of the electoral process, including the detection and prevention of fraud.

“The Security Council calls on all stakeholders to engage with the electoral institutions and processes with patience and respect, refrain from any acts that incite imminent violence, civil disorder or lead to instability, and to channel complaints through the established institutional mechanisms in line with Afghanistan’s electoral laws and constitution.

“The Security Council looks forward to the conclusion of the electoral process in accordance with the relevant laws and mandates of the electoral institutions and the orderly transition to a new administration and welcomes the ongoing support role of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

“The Security Council calls on all political entities to work together in accordance with the Afghan Constitution, with the aim of strengthening Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity in order to achieve a peaceful and prosperous future for all the people of Afghanistan.”

Mr. Kubiš, who also heads UNAMA, was encouraged by the IEC Chairman's ideas on how to increase the integrity, neutrality and transparency of the country’s electoral process.

In line with the debate of the Security Council, the Special Representative encouraged the Commission to adopt such measures, especially in the areas raised by the two Presidential candidates’ campaign teams.

Presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah met with the IEC on 23 June, while candidate Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai met with the IEC on 25 June.

Mr. Kubiš, in particular, urged the IEC to take the necessary steps to further separate and reject fraudulent ballots from the valid votes of the people in order to increase the process’ quality and credibility, and to implement them as expeditiously as possible with minimal impact on the election timetable.