Afghans will be electing their new President on August 20. The preparations for the elections are in full swing. About 100 experts from the EU will be monitoring the election.

Enlarge image

A woman is photographed as part of election registration in November 2008.

(© picture-alliance/dpa)

These will be the first presidential and provincial elections to be organized by the Afghans themselves. The preparations have gone well so far and are on schedule. The last – and first – free presidential elections in 2004 were organized by the international community. On that occasion, President Hamid Karzai, formerly President of the Transitional Government, emerged as the winner with 55% of the vote. He is now standing for re-election.

A first key step was the registration of voters. Since there is no reliable system of registering residents in Afghanistan, voters have to register on an electoral roll. This process ran from October 2008 until February 2009, during which time 4.3 million people registered as new or first-time voters. Taken together with the voters who had already registered for the elections in 2004/2005, there are thus 15.6 million registered voters (from an estimated total of between 22 and 30 million citizens). This shows how keen Afghans are to play their part in the democratic process.

There are 41 candidates for the office of President, while there are more than 3000 for the various provincial councils.

Enlarge image

An Afghan worker registers voters in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan in March 2009.

(© picture-alliance/ dpa)

Major challenges

Nevertheless, there are still shortcomings in the election process: Firstly, due to the incomplete registration of citizens, multiple registrations – as in the case of the 2005 elections – are relatively simple. Secondly, the country has still to gain experience in carrying out large-scale democratic and independent election processes.

However, there are also practicable solutions: people are to be prevented from voting more than once by the use of indelible ink. Key instruments for ensuring a fair and transparent election campaign are the Media Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission. The Media Commission is to guarantee access to the media, while the Electoral Complaints Commission will investigate public criticism during the election process. One task performed by the Electoral Complaints Commission – made up of Afghan and international experts – was the vetting of candidates.

International support

The international community is supporting the process. The EU wants to ensure that the elections are fair and transparent by sending an election observation mission. And the Support Group of the Special Representatives has, for example, made supporting equal opportunities for all candidates the focus of its work.

It is worth noting that Afghan governmental institutions are doing ever more to ensure equal opportunities for all candidates. President Karzai has issued a decree prohibiting government officials from influencing the elections, while the Defence and Interior Ministries have offered all presidential candidates transport and personal protection during the election campaign.

Security – for both voters and candidates – remains a challenge which has to be met if the elections in August are to be a success. Afghan security forces, police officers and the military have a key role to play here, assisted by the international community.

Guaranteeing legitimacy

It is crucial now to ensure that the elections are held in a way that is credible, comprehensive and safe. For doubts concerning the independence or integrity of the election process would call into question the legitimacy of the elections as a whole.