As Afghans prepare to vote in the presidential run-off, the senior-most United Nation official in the country has called on key stakeholders to improve the electoral process, and reminded policymakers that Afghan men, women and children should be meaningfully involved in the peace efforts and future direction of their country.
"The run-off vote is an unprecedented event for Afghanistan's democracy," said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Jan Kubis.
He renewed his congratulations to around seven million people who voted on 5 April for their "extraordinary performance" which led to a higher than expected first round vote.
"Afghans remain undeterred by attacks against the democratic process and are determined to take control of their destiny and provide their next leader with a full mandate and legitimacy," Kubis said of the message that would be sent by Afghans voters in the two rounds.
On June 14, they will head back to the polls to choose between Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani.
There are expectations that the Commissioners of the Independent Election Commission and the Head of Secretariat will implement some technical changes in this second round.
Candidates and observers, among others, recommended improvements to transparency and communications in the management of the results and complaints following the April vote.
Kubis, who met with the Commissioners on Monday, stressed that elections are both a technical and a political exercise.
"Technical improvements alone will not result in a better election without the political will of candidates to respect the process and its results and to disavow fraud by their supporters, as well as for government officials to remain impartial," said Kubis, who is also the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
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