The top UN envoy to Afghanistan said the country had just a few weeks to finalize crucial details if parliamentary elections were to go ahead in spring as planned. Jean Arnault told the UN Security Council on Monday that the government and the electoral authorities urgently had to assign populations to districts, which had to be agreed 120 days before the elections. If the target date of holding parliamentary elections in April or May is to be met, "district boundaries must therefore be finalized within the next couple of weeks at the latest," he said. Other issues to be clarified include the participation of refugees and nomads, the demarcation of districts, voters' lists, and revisions of the electoral law, Arnault said. One important piece of legislation that must be adopted concerns the powers of local councils that are to be elected, he said.
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"This complex preparatory work is pursued with the April-May target in mind and a final decision on the election date will have to be made by the new Independent Electoral Commission in the next few weeks," he said. Arnault also said an appeal would be made to the international community to fund the elections, saying between US$120 million and US$130 million would be needed.
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Although three UN electoral workers kidnapped in October were later freed and the overall security situation in the country had improved, he warned the abduction and killing of a subcontracted UN Office of Project Services employee in December meant the targeting of international staff could occur again. Arnault also warned that abductions might become more "routine once winter conditions recede and the movement of anti-government forces becomes easier." Arnault said the government had to tackle irregular militiamen as a matter of priority as they could undermine the electoral process. Around 33,000 militiamen had given up their weapons, but between 20,000 and 30,000 must still be disarmed, he said. Japan's UN Ambassador Kenzo Oshima, told reporters after Security Council consultations Monday: "There are challenging problems that need to be overcome for these elections to proceed on the technical side as well as the political side." Japan is the largest financial contributor to the disarming of militia in Afghanistan. |