IRIN
Afghanistan-Iran-Pakistan
IOM prepares voter registration for Afghan refugees
24 August 2004


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

ISLAMABAD, 24 August (IRIN) - The International Organization for Migration 
(IOM) is preparing to conduct voter registration for Afghans residing in 
Pakistan, ahead of Afghanistan's first presidential elections scheduled 
for 9 October this year.

"The IOM will run an extensive public awareness campaign to inform Afghans 
of their right to vote - especially encouraging female participation," 
Greg Bearup, the media officer for IOM's Afghanistan Out of Country 
Registration and Voting (OCRV) programme told IRIN in the capital, 
Islamabad on Tuesday.

Close to two million Afghans still live in Pakistan, according to the UN, 
despite more than a million having returned since late 2001.

The IOM has been assigned the task of registering voters and conducting 
polling for Afghans residing in Pakistan and Iran, on behalf of the United 
Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the Afghan 
government's Joint Election Management Body (JEMB).

In Pakistan, the voter registration will start on 1 October and continue 
for three days. However, the registration stations will remain open on 4 
and 5 October, for supervised public viewing of the registration lists. 
Those scrutinising the lists would be able to submit a challenge to any 
name on the list that they believe is registered fraudulently.

Over 1,000 registration and as many polling stations will be established 
in approximately 300 locations in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and 
Balochistan province. Both provinces border Afghanistan and are home to 
the majority of Afghans in Pakistan.

"The stations will be set up at refugee camps and the urban refugee 
concentrations of the two provinces in Peshawar and Quetta. However, 
Afghans living in other areas of the country can travel to any of these 
centres to enroll for voting," Bearup said.

Those registering to vote would be required to confirm their Afghan 
nationality and their eligibility to participate in the election. Afghan 
men and women, 18 years of age and older are eligible to register. Each 
will receive a registration receipt to be presented on polling day and 
will be inked on their right hand in order to prevent multiple 
registrations.

The registration of Afghan voters will only take place in Pakistan. In 
Iran, where around 800,000 Afghans live, this process was already 
undertaken in 2003. The Iranian Afghan refugee voter register will be sent 
to Afghanistan together with completed ballots at the end of the election 
process.

The IOM OCRV will open seven field offices in Iran, with approximately 
1,000 polling stations in some 250 locations across the country.

Through its network of field offices in two countries, IOM will commence 
local voter education and information services for the Afghan population. 
It will work closely with the UN and JEMB to develop registration 
information, including leaflets, flyers, radio and television spots, to 
ensure that Afghans are aware of the registration process and procedures.

The IOM OCRV will recruit some 1,200 community mobilisers each in the two 
countries. These teams will assist in the recruitment and training of 
thousands of staff that will operate the registration and polling 
stations. The polling staff will be recruited primarily from the local 
Afghan community including both men and women.

Polling will take place in Iran and Pakistan on the same day as in 
Afghanistan - 9 October. Registration data and ballots will be transferred 
to the Afghan capital, Kabul for counting, immediately after the close of 
polls and under international supervision.


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004


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