IRIN
AFGHANISTAN: Further progress toward parliamentary elections
30 May 2005


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United 
Nations]

KABUL, 30 May (IRIN) - The nomination process for candidates in 
Afghanistan's forthcoming parliamentary elections has met with enormous 
enthusiasm. A total of 6,085 Afghans have registered to stand in the 
historic 18 September legislature and provincial council elections, the 
country's election commission announced on Sunday.

The Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) announced the success of the 
nomination process for elections to Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga (Lower 
House of the National Assembly) and provincial councils.

"The candidates' nominations were the first important challenge for the 
JEMB and we are very happy about such a positive outcome in such a short 
time," Najla Ayubi, a member of the JEMB, told IRIN in the capital, 
Kabul.

Of the 2,915 people who had registered to run for the 249-seat Wolesi 
Jirga, 347 were women, Ayubi said, while there were 279 women among the 
3,170 nominated candidates for the provincial councils.

"The turnout of women, who make up slightly more than 10 percent of 
candidates, is extremely favourable," she said.

Afghan electoral law requires that at least 68 seats in the general 
assembly be reserved for women and Ayubi noted that there were enough 
candidates to fill these seats. However, she also noted that in five 
more troubled southern provinces, the turnout of women remained too low 
to meet the required number.

"In Uruzgan we do not have a [single] women candidate," the JEMB 
official noted. Preliminary indicators reveal that in many provinces 
more than 100 people were running for the Wolesi Jirga and the 
provincial council seats. In Kabul alone, more than 400 candidates came 
forward.

According to the JEMB, the second most significant challenge is the 
preparation of an efficient ballot paper comprehensible to all Afghans, 
taking into consideration the high levels of illiteracy in the country.

"Undoubtedly our toughest timeline is the ballot production," Richard 
Atwood, a chief of operations for the JEMB, told IRIN. "We have to 
produce about 40 million ballots, 69 different ballots for 34 provincial 
council elections, 34 Wolesi Jirga elections and one for Kuchi [nomads] 
elections."  He said they were reviewing different types of ballots and 
after a public consultation, ballot papers would be printed.

"We are thinking of printing it like a booklet or in a big sheet or any 
other design to be easy and logical for voters," Atwood maintained.

The final candidate lists would be released on 4 June for the six-day 
display period, he added.

"During these six days, anyone with a legitimate interest in the 
electoral process may challenge candidates on the preliminary list if 
they believe a candidate does not meet the eligibility criteria," he 
explained.

Afghanistan held a successful presidential election on October 2004, 
which chose Hamid Karzai to be the first elected president of the 
country. Eight million of more than 11 million eligible voters turned 
out for that poll.

The parliamentary polls, which would cost the international community 
almost US $150 million, had originally been scheduled at the same time 
as the presidential elections but was delayed several times because of 
what election workers described as 'security and technical problems.'


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
2005


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