IOM yesterday completed the first and second phases of its
assistance to the Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) to
register voters in 23 of the country's 34 provinces for the
upcoming 2009 and 2010 elections.

The IEC, in cooperation with local and international partners,
started the four-phase registration exercise to update the existing
voter registry on 6 October 2008. The first phase was conducted in
14 provinces, while the second phase covered a further nine
provinces.

"We have been able to introduce a robust human resource system
to support the current process. A lot of capacity-building
activities are also being carried out and I hope that this will
help ensure transparent voter registration, one of the major
challenges in holding democratic elections," says IOM's Officer in
Charge Jose-Ivan Davalos.  

IOM is working closely with the IEC, the UN Assistance Mission
in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP)
ELECT project to support the voter registration process.

Building on its worldwide experience in organizing large-scale
electoral operations, IOM has supplied experts to work with IEC,
particularly in the areas of finance, payroll, database and
training support.

The Central Statistics Office of Afghanistan currently estimates
the total population of Afghanistan at 25 million. Approximately
eight million new voters are expected to register, primarily due to
the high level of returns from neighbouring countries and more
young people reaching voting age.

In Afghanistan, IOM works closely with government counterparts,
in line with the Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS),
focusing on technical cooperation and capacity building. IOM
programmes provide emergency relief to vulnerable displaced
families, facilitate long-term return and reintegration to and
within Afghanistan and stabilize migrant communities for
sustainable development.   

For further information, please contact:

Salvador Osorio

IOM Kabul

Tel: + 93 (0) 708 916581

E-mail: "mailto:sosorio@iom.int">sosorio@iom.int

or

Katsui Kaya

Tel: +93 (0) 700 185961

E-mail: "mailto:kkaya@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">kkaya@iom.int