The top United Nations diplomat in Afghanistan said on September 19 it was too early to describe a parliamentary election as a success, with an expected 4,000 complaints to be heard and turnout figures not yet established. Afghan election officials declared September 18 result a success despite widespread reports of fraud, worryingly low voter turnout and attacks across the country that killed at least 17 people. “I think that that is premature, with all due respect,” Staffan de Mistura, special representative for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was quoted as saying. “They have done a great job … But I would wait to talk about success,” he said in Kabul. Election officials pored over votes on Sunday but there will be a long wait before even preliminary results are declared, with ballots still to come in from remote areas and thousands of complaints expected from unsuccessful candidates. The final turnout figure will likely be the lowest of the four elections held in Afghanistan since the Taleban were toppled – presidential elections in 2004 and 2009 and parliamentary polls in 2005 and 2010. “The declining trend signifies several things, most prominently a growing disillusionment and disengagement with the process, and the impact of a worsening security situation,” Martine van Bijlert of the Afghanistan Analysts Network wrote in a blog on September 19.
FRAUD, TURNOUT WEIGH ON AFGHAN POLL
The top United Nations diplomat in Afghanistan said on September 19 it was too early to describe a parliamentary election as a success, with an expected 4,000 complaints to be heard and turnout figures not yet established.
