Afghan electoral bodies need support: UN

KABUL) and the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) needed support to safeguard impartiality and transparency in their work.

Ján Kubiš, UN secretary-general’s special representative for Afghanistan and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) head, expressed these views following a meeting with Dr. Sima Samar, chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

The two national electoral bodies direly needed support to highlight the importance of the coming re-accreditation review of the AIHRC.
“Dr. Samar and I discussed the enthusiastic participation of Afghans who exercised their basic human right to vote in the presidential elections,” said Kubiš.

He went on to say that “we agreed that Afghan voters expect no less than for due process to be followed, meaning that their votes will be counted, complaints resolved in an impartial, fair and efficient manner in which fraudulent votes will be excluded and valid final results will be respected by all candidates.” 
Dr. Samar briefed Kubiš on her recent discussions with the Ministry of Finance on the steps necessary for the AIHRC to retain its “A” status as per the ICC’s recommendations.

The recommendations include the need for the government to better define the process for appointing human rights commissioners and to ensure public financing for the commission’s work under its constitutional mandate.
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