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29/03/2004
Afghan elections announcement welcomed by UN
The senior UN envoy to Afghanistan has welcomed an announcement by the country's president, Hamid Karzai, that elections have been scheduled to take place in September.
Under an accord reached two years ago in Bonn, Germany, elections were to be held in June, but security and other considerations have caused delays in voter registration. Currently, more than 1.6 million of the approximately 10 million eligible Afghans have registered.
Jean Arnault, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said that President Karzai's decision “is going to make everyone's life a lot easier” because preparations can now be better organized.
“It is also very important in terms of public information and civic education,” he added.
Mr Arnault said that the decision would also boost a donors' meeting on Afghanistan set to open Thursday in Berlin.
However, disarmament efforts must go hand-in-hand with the electoral process, Mr Arnault said.
“The next few months will have to focus in a very significant way on allowing these elections to take place in a country that will not be fully disarmed but should be well on its way towards disarmament,” he said.
(gmcg)
Under an accord reached two years ago in Bonn, Germany, elections were to be held in June, but security and other considerations have caused delays in voter registration. Currently, more than 1.6 million of the approximately 10 million eligible Afghans have registered.
Jean Arnault, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said that President Karzai's decision “is going to make everyone's life a lot easier” because preparations can now be better organized.
“It is also very important in terms of public information and civic education,” he added.
Mr Arnault said that the decision would also boost a donors' meeting on Afghanistan set to open Thursday in Berlin.
However, disarmament efforts must go hand-in-hand with the electoral process, Mr Arnault said.
“The next few months will have to focus in a very significant way on allowing these elections to take place in a country that will not be fully disarmed but should be well on its way towards disarmament,” he said.
(gmcg)
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