News - Security could delay Afghan vote
The new United Nations envoy to Afghanistan has said it is still not possible to set a date for presidential elections planned for this summer.
Jean Arnault said security problems remain the major obstacle to holding the elections as planned in June.
Political freedom and the patchy pace of disarmament were also areas of concern, he said.
Earlier, a leader of the former ruling Taleban warned that Afghans risked being attacked if they voted.
“The people of Afghanistan must not participate in the
election,” Mullah Dadullah told Reuters.
“If they do, they will come under Taleban attack.”
However, the head of Nato-led peacekeepers in Afghanistan said he believed free and fair elections could still be held.
“We think the security environment is improving and will get to the point where successful elections can occur and be free and fair,” Lieutenant General Rick Hillier said.
Delays
It is difficult to work out the current state of thinking on the Afghan elections, says the BBC correspondent in Kabul, Andrew North.
A US official had recently suggested elections may have to be delayed.
The Afghan government has rejected this and said it was still sticking to June.
Mr Arnault says security issues are the major obstacle to June elections
|
Speaking at his first news conference since taking up his post, Mr Arnault said he also wanted to speed up voter registration.
The number of Afghans registered to vote reached the symbolic figure of one million on Wednesday when a young female student signed up at a polling station in western Kabul.
But so far, the United Nations, which is organising the polls, has registered just 10% of Afghan voters.
Mr Arnault promised a new campaign to register voters in May in all of the country’s 32 provinces.
Planning is also under way to deal with the security challenges, he said.
But he expected international forces in Afghanistan to “step up to the plate”.
Mr Arnault also said he hoped Nato would follow up on its commitment to expand its presence in the country.
Originaly from Source