24 September 2010

AFGHANISTAN Governance and Participation Factsheet1 on the Parliamentary Election 18 September 2010 Anne-Catherine Claude - Governance and Justice Knowledge Manager (anne-catherine.claude@cimicweb.org) Amber Ramsey - Knowledge Manager (amber.ramsey@cimicweb.org) (www.cimicweb.org) , CLICK HERE Results Availability: Preliminary Results (08 October) - Final Results (30 October) Overall Participation The Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced a turnout of 47% with over 4 million votes cast (including many fraudulent ballots that may be invalidated by the ECC). However, turnout was lower than the previous parliamentary election in 2005 (6.4 million votes) and the presidential election in 2009 (4.6 million valid votes). Womens Participation FEFA: Women voters were fewer than male voters almost everywhere. In the most insecure southern and south-eastern provinces many polling centres reported almost no women voters. According to an article in the Washington Post, 40% of votes were cast by women, with the author qualifying this statistic as progress in developing a democratic political culture.

Photo: Fardin Waezi/UNAMA

Final numbers may differ from one source to another, but this factsheet attempts to use official figures released by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC).

I.

Pre-elections

Voter Registration: 12 June-12 August 2010 (registration continued for an additional week in the Marjah district of Helmand province due to the security situation during the 2009 presidential election; registration ended 19 August) According to a press release from the Independent Election Commission (IEC) there are: New voters: 376,081 Women registered: 152,147 Kuchi nomads registered: 16,920 Overall voting population: 11.4 million Security Issues: FEFA reported 61 incidents of election-related violence ahead of the polls, including 49 incidents targeting candidates and campaign staff. This included: Abduction of campaign workers Killing of candidates: o On 23 July, Sayedullah Sayed, a candidate and religious scholar, was killed and 20 others were wounded when the mosque in which he was speaking was bombed in Khost province. o On 24 July, the Taliban abducted Najibullah Gulisanti, a candidate in Ghazni province; he was killed two weeks later after Taliban demands for a prisoner exchange were rejected. o On 29 August, candidate Haji Abdul Manan Noorzai was killed as he walked from his home to a mosque for evening prayers in the Shindand district of Herat province. Threats against election staff: two staff members of the IEC were killed just days before the elections in Balkh province. Intimidation: o Taliban spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid called on the Afghan population to boycott the upcoming election. In his statement, Mujahid warned that everything and everyone affiliated with the election is our target. o FEFA reported 200 acts of intimidation between the middle of July and end of August.

Specific Issues Faced by Women: Women faced the majority of threats (see 01 September CFC Weekly Afghanistan Review, Governance and Participation section). Women candidates campaign materials were targeted. One female candidate, Fawzia Gilani, had 10 of her campaign workers abducted by gunmen - five of them were found dead a week later - a month before the elections.

Additional Issues Identified During the Campaigning Period: Fake registration cards Between 15 July and 25 August, FEFAs observers across Afghanistan submitted 583 reports of electoral violations, including government officials unlawfully supporting candidates, candidates using state resources in their campaigns, and uniformed security officers participating in campaigns. II. Election Day

Number of Polling Centres: Final: 5,355 List issued prior to elections: 5,897 Initial list of polling centres: 6,835 Stations closed or information not received: 542 Stations closed due to insecurity: 153 Provinces where the most polling stations opened: Kabul, Herat, Nangarhar Provinces where the largest number of polling stations were closed due to insecurity: Ghazni, Nangarhar Main issues identified on Election Day: Polling materials not arriving to polling stations Intimidation and threats Vote-buying Ineligible voters Poor ink quality Fake voter cards Opening late Proxy voting Candidates campaigning on election day Ballot-stuffing Underage voting

Election Observers: Candidates Agents: 369,813 Male Candidates Agents: 281,306 Female Candidates Agents: 88,507 Domestic Observers: 3,923 Political Party Representatives: 1,192 International Observers: 1,090 Domestic Media: 333 International Media: 304 Special Guests: 63

The Election Complaints Commission (ECC) said it had received 126 official complaints on election day, including delayed opening, intimidation and threats, ineligible voters, misuse of voter registration cards, proxy voting, poor ink quality and shortages of ballot papers. Number of Security Incidents on Election Day: Mainly rocket and mortar barrages Attacks (MoD): 294 (compared to 479 last year) Deaths on Election Day: 24 (11 civilian, 13 police) Wounded: 48 (45 civilians, 3 police) Attacks (NATO): 580 (294 insurgent attacks and 286 operations launched by NATO and Afghan forces) FEFA: serious security incidents at 389 polling centres

Number of complaints received by ECC: Prior to the elections: ECC - 1,700 complaints received since April. Complaints received in the period 18-22 September2: 3,138 complaints relating to irregularities on election day. ECC bodies: 35 Main issues with complaints process: No reliable connection with some provinces Fraudulent complaints against competing candidates Fear to register formal complaints because they cannot be made anonymously or simply because Afghans are unaware of the procedure to follow Election Quotes: United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General, Staffan de Mistura: Widespread irregularities but no evidence of massive or systematic fraud. Head of the IEC, Fazal Ahmad Manawi: we are satisfied with the holding of the elections, and in the current situation and circumstances, the fact that we managed to hold the elections is itself a success. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon commended the courage and determination of the men and women of Afghanistan for voting in the elections. Presidential Spokesman, Waheed Omer: "It is early for us to make concrete judgement ... as far as the quality of the election is concerned, and organisation, this is too early to judge." General David Petraeus, Commander of ISAF: the people of Afghanistan sent a powerful message to the Taliban. Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA): FEFA has serious concerns about the quality of the elections. For More information on the 2010 Parliamentary Elections please visit our Elections Page.

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2

Last day to receive complaints regarding events which occurred on election day.