At this critical juncture of the country’s political development there can be no greater security task than providing a safe environment in which to hold this election. This government should take the opportunity to show that it has the ability to protect candidates and their supporters from enemies of a democratic Afghanistan.

On September 18, 2010 more than 2,500 candidates will contest 249 seats in the Afghan parliament, the Wolesi Jirga.

At least three candidates and five campaign workers have been killed in this year’s election campaign so far.

Further details after the break.

 Details of the killings:

Candidates and election workers killed during the campaign, according to local and foreign news reports:

July 23: Sayedullah Sayed was killed when a bomb planted in a mosque detonated shortly before Friday prayers in Khost province.

August 6: Decapitated body of candidate Najibullah Gulistani found in Ghazni province. He had been missing for 18 days before his body was found.

August 28: Candidate Haji Abdul Manan, shot and killed as we was leaving a mosque on a motorbike in Herat.

August 29: Five election workers for female candidate Fauzia Galani found murdered in western Herat province. The men had been tied up and then shot. Five other men who were kidnapped with the group were reportedly released some days before.

August 30:  A parliamentary election candidate escaped unhurt but his campaigner was killed in a bomb attack in western Faryab province on Monday, according to Pajhwok Afghan News. Haji Naqeebullah Faiq was the target of the explosion but it was his deputy campaign chief was killed and three others wounded in the bombing.

Some references:

IPU,Inter-Parliamentary Union Declaration on Criteria for Free and Fair Elections,art. 4(8): “States should take the necessary measures to ensure that parties, candidates and supporters enjoy equal security, and that State authorities take the necessary steps to prevent electoral violence.”

IPU,Inter-Parliamentary Union Declaration on Criteria for Free and Fair Elections,art. 3(5): “The right of candidates to security with respect to their lives and property shall be recognized and protected.”

EU,Handbook for European Union Election Observation, Second Edition,p. 48: “Following their registration, candidates should not be subject to interference, including any pressure, coercion or intimidation, or attempts to force their withdrawal.”

Democracy International has had a presence in Afghanistan since June 2009. During the presidential election in August 2009 DI deployed observers to 13 of the country’s 34 provinces. This year it plans to deploy 60 observers to 9 provinces.

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U.S.-based Democracy International designs, implements and evaluates election support and other democracy and governance assistance programs around the world. Since its founding in 2003, DI has worked in more than 35 countries. DI conducted the U.S. observation mission to elections in Pakistan in February 2008 and since then has carried out election-related projects in Albania, Ecuador, Ghana, Indonesia, Liberia and Sudan. For updated information on DI’s Election Observation Mission to Afghanistan, please visit www.democracyinternational.com/afghanistan and DI’s Twitter feed: DemocracyIntl.

KABUL—Next month’s Afghan parliamentary elections, which President Hamid Karzai hopes will produce a more compliant legislature, are prompting fears of further violence and fraud, diplomats and international observers say.

With Afghanistan’s security situation worse than last year during August’s disputed presidential vote, the possibility for fraud is greater this time, say Western embassy officials monitoring the campaign.

Last year, a United Nations-led watchdog threw out as fraudulent more than a million ballots cast for Mr. Karzai, discrediting his presidency in the eyes of many Afghans and lawmakers and damaging relations between the Afghan leader and the international community.

Since then, parliament has become a center of defiance against Mr. Karzai. Lawmakers have rejected dozens of his ministerial appointees and voted against his proposed changes, ultimately implemented through presidential decree, to electoral law.

Mr. Karzai “has had a very unpleasant experience with the previous parliament that challenged him. He wants a more obedient parliament to be elected,” said Daud Sultanzoy, an independent lawmaker who is running for re-election.

Some lawmakers say Mr. Karzai hopes a new parliament will support his nominations for the remaining seven cabinet ministerial slots and the Supreme Court’s chief justice, a vacancy that opened up this month. Mr. Karzai hasn’t sought approval from the current parliament for the postings in order to avoid further deadlock.

Unlike previous elections, which were co-managed with the U.N., Afghanistan’s Independent Electoral Commission is overseeing these elections alone. Under the new rules that Mr. Karzai decreed last fall, the U.N. no longer appoints the majority of commissioners at the Electoral Complaints Commission, the watchdog that disqualified so many votes last year; Mr. Karzai now makes these appointments.

Afghan election officials say they believe next month’s vote won’t be as problematic as last year’s. “We’ve learned from our mistakes,” Fazel Ahmad Manawi, chairman of the IEC, said in an interview. “Fraud is a concern, but it won’t be to the extent of the presidential election.”

Independent observers aren’t so certain. “There are still issues of competency, quality and the trustworthiness of the IEC staff,” said Glenn Cowan, a co-founder of Democracy International, a U.S. organization that plans to oversee the September elections. “Many local administrators were in place last year, and whether or not they will allow the same massive level of fraud is a question.”

The U.N. considers some 40% of Afghanistan’s districts unsafe for unarmed government officials. Coalition military officials say more territory has succumbed to the insurgents since August 2009, with once-peaceful provinces in the north now infiltrated by the Taliban. So far, aAt least three parliamentary candidates have been killed, dozens threatened and several kidnapped, IEC and interior ministry officials say.

“We all know that security challenges will be a significant obstacle,” said the U.N. special representative in Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura. “We must ensure that poor security in parts of the country is not used to manipulate the votes of the people.”

More than 2,500 candidates are running for 249 slots in the Wolesi Jirga, or the lower house of Afghanistan’s parliament, in the Sept. 18 election. One-quarter of the seats are reserved for women.

Afghanistan’s electoral system distributes votes for individual candidates rather than political parties. Coupled with typically low voter turnouts of 30%, the setup often allows candidates to win with no more than 10% of the vote.

By handing out bags of rice or cooking oil, candidates can win over a voting station or even an entire village, which is often all that is needed to secure a parliament seat in some parts of the country, said Mr. Cowan from Democracy International.

The competition is most intense in Kabul, where campaigning is relatively safe and colorful election banners plaster the streets. Posters of warlords sporting turbans and bushy mustaches with pictures of assassinated family members in the background hang alongside posters of candidates in drab-colored suits, sitting in leather chairs. For Afghanistan’s mostly illiterate population, each candidate has a symbol so voters can spot their candidate on the ballot. Roses, horses and stacks of money are among thousands of symbols being used.

In the more volatile provinces of Afghanistan, especially in the south and the east, there is little public sign of the campaign. Candidates there live in fear of the Taliban and campaign secretly or in absentia.

Hossai Andar, a 45-year-old woman with an easy smile, is running for a seat in the eastern Ghazni province mostly from her home in Kabul. Ms. Andar travels secretly to the violence-racked province a few days a week, organizing covert campaign sessions at relatives’ houses.

Although her headscarf easily slips off her hair in Kabul, she doesn’t come to Ghazni without the all-encompassing burqa, fearing she will be recognized and killed by the insurgents.

One of the candidates whom the Taliban allegedly tried to kill is Mohammad Naeem Lalay, a first-time candidate running for a seat in southern Kandahar city, the Taliban’s birthplace.

Winding down a dusty street in Kandahar one early morning in July, Mr. Lalay said he was hurrying to a meeting with tribal elders. As his car snaked through the streets an explosion ripped through the air, killing a young girl nearby and shaking his car violently.

He returned home, slightly injured. Then the phone calls from unknown numbers started coming.

“A man told me to step back from my campaign or ‘this time we’ll kill you,’” Mr. Lalay said. “Every day I receive five to 10 phone calls threatening my life,” which he said are from Taliban insurgents or rival candidates. Other candidates are reporting the same intimidation tactics.

According to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, “The Taliban are totally against elections in Afghanistan, and people have been asked to not participate because it will extend the occupation of our country.” The insurgents, he added, “will not spare any effort to disrupt the upcoming election.”

With a month to go, Afghan officials haven’t decided yet how many polling stations will open across the country. Security officials are monitoring the Taliban’s activity for indications of which areas are safe enough to open voting stations, said Zemarai Bashary, a spokesman for the interior ministry.

To read the original article and see accompanying media, click here.

Democracy International (DI) will support USAID’s central bureaus, field missions, regional bureaus, and other USG agencies around the world by conducting democracy and governance assessments and evaluations in specific countries, designing democracy and governance programs and strategies, and carrying out applied research and writing projects. The evaluations cover the full scope of USAID’s programs in democracy and governance and will inform the design and implementation of USAID-funded democracy and governance strategies and programs. Such services will ensure that USAID’s democracy and governance strategies, programs and activities, and monitoring and evaluation plans are based on in-depth and well-informed analysis, cutting-edge research, valid data, and best practices in the field of democracy and governance.

DI’s approach focuses on bringing innovative ideas and fresh perspectives of practitioners and opinion researchers to the new challenges of effective impact evaluation, use of technology, security sector reform, and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration. DI’s team includes The Carter Center, Charney Research, Chemonics International, Global Business Solutions, and Planning and Learning Technologies (Pal-Tech).

Read the full English translation after the break.  

Pictures from La Nation article.

In The Name of Good Governance  

Djibouti Elections and Political Process is the name of a comprehensive project devoted to the promotion of democracy and good governance in Djibouti jointly launched yesterday at the American Chancellery by the Republic of Djibouti and the American government.  

Yesterday at the US Embassy, the Director of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet, Mr. Rachid Hassan, and the US Ambassador to Djibouti, James C. Swan jointly launched a project like no other. Funded by USAID, the “Djibouti Elections and Political Process” is a first in Djibouti. With a budget of $2.2 million, the Djibouti Elections and Political Process is a bold, comprehensive program that aims to strengthen the Independent National Electoral Commission’s management of the electoral process, improve voter education and participation, enhance political dialogue, and provide international election observation. 

The Djibouti Elections and Political Process stems from the objectives included in the September 26, 2009, bilateral assistance agreement between the United States and Djibouti, which aims to promote democracy and good governance. The agreement and the project are the result of the continuous and fruitful cooperation between the two governments and seek to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the Djiboutian and American people. 

Democracy International, USAID’s implementing partner, is an American organization that promotes democracy and good governance worldwide; it will collaborate with the Djiboutian government and nongovernmental organizations, including the Djiboutian media, to manage the project locally. 

In a speech on the launch of the project, the Director of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet, Mr. Rachid Hassan, highlighted the crucial importance of this project which aims to “strengthen confidence in the electoral system of Djibouti.” While thanking the U.S. government for the project, Mr. Saban reiterated the Djiboutian government’s commitment to the program and hoped that “the project would achieve its stated objectives and boost [the] country’s image in the field of the rule of law and good governance.” 

The U.S. Ambassador noted that the promotion of democracy is central to the National Security Strategy of President Obama and “in Djibouti … three areas guide [U.S.] commitments: peace and security, democracy and governance, and economic development.” 

 Attending the launching ceremony were the Mayor of Djibouti, Mr. Ismail Ali Yabeh; USAID representative in Djibouti, Stephanie Funk; and representatives of the Presidency, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Interior, political parties, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and regional councils. 

To read the original language version of the article, click here.

Pictures from La Nation article.

• building electoral management;
• conducting voter education and participation; 
• supporting the Electoral Commission (la Commission Electorale Nationale Independante –CENI) in its role to oversee the electoral process; 
• enhancing political dialogue among electoral contestants and strengthening political parties; and
• deploying international observers before, during and after the elections.

The project goals are based on the objectives included in a bi-lateral assistance agreement signed in September, 2009 between the United States Government and the Republic of  Djibouti that includes promotion of democracy and good governance. Read the more about the launch event after the jump.

Event attendees included James C. Swan, U.S. Ambassador in Djibouti, and Rachid Hassan Saban, the Director of the Prime Minister’s cabinet of the Government of Djibouti, along with representatives of the Presidency, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Interior, political parties, civil society, the previous Electoral Commission (la Commission Electorale Nationale Independante –CENI), and regional governments as well as the media.

In remarks made during the ceremony today, Ambassador Swan commented, “We look forward to working with the government and people of Djibouti to support further democratic openness and competition.  Our goal is to ensure that recent democratic reforms in Djibouti carry forward to free and fair elections in 2011.  Further gains in democracy and good governance will reinforce Djibouti’s deserved reputation as a pocket of relative peace and stability in the Horn of Africa region.”

Speaking on behalf of the Republic of Djibouti, Rachid Hassan Saban stated that, “The Government of Djibouti supports this project and looks forward to working in partnership with the U.S. Government on its implementation.”

For the official USAID Press Release, click here.

On February 17, with Afghanistan’s National Assembly in recess, President Hamid Karzai issued an Article 79 presidential decree amending the Electoral Law of Afghanistan. According to Article 79, in the event of an emergency, the President of Afghanistan is permitted to issue decrees amending laws. It also affords the National Assembly the opportunity to reject these decrees. Afghanistan’s lower house of the National Assembly, the Wolesi Jirga, took just that action with a majority of members voting to reject the Article 79 decree. For Article 79 decrees to be nullified, however, both houses of parliament must reject them. Afghanistan’s upper house, the Meshrano Jirga, chose not to include the Article 79 decree in its working agenda. It is now widely acknowledged that the Article 79 Electoral Law decree forms the framework by which Wolesi Jirga elections will be held on September 18, 2010.

DI’s Electoral Law translation is available for download here.

Dicky Dooradi, DI's Chief of Party, speaks at the opening of the training in Dili.

On June 9th and 10th, 2010 DI’s Timor Leste Research Development Program conducted the first ever program monitoring and evaluation training in Dili. Thirty four participants from 18 local NGOs and USAID partners actively discussed various methods, techniques and systems to monitor program outputs, outcomes and impacts. The training was coordinated by Dicky Dooradi, DI’s Chief of Party in Timor-Leste. Yulianto Dewata, a monitoring and evaluation expert and Democracy International’s M&E Manager in Indonesia, served as the lead trainer and shared his experiences working on various monitoring and evaluations efforts.

“I feel much more confident now. I have done some evaluation and monitoring as part of my job but never had any training before. Thank you USAID and DI. I learned a lot and this will help me perform better”, said one participant. Funded by USAID, DI’s Timor-Leste Research Development Project is a three year project to develop capacity to conduct research in Timor-Leste.

David Dewata, DI's M&E Manager in Indonesia, delivers a presentation on program monitoring and evaluation.

DI recently released “Consensus Recommendations for Electoral Reform in Afghanistan.” This publication lists 34 recommendations for electoral reform in Afghanistan, which are based on a comprehensive review and analysis of recommendations presented by a wide range of stakeholders to Afghanistan’s election process. These recommendations have been drawn from 437 unique recommendations presented by Afghan civil society organizations, international observer missions, assistance organizations, independent election experts, and others.

DI believes these recommendations represent the major points of consensus for electoral reform in Afghanistan. It is important to stress that these recommendations are not the independent positions of Democracy International. They are the result of a review of hundreds of documents and are inclusive of the opinions of a wide range of stakeholders. We hope they can help form the foundation for an all inclusive effort both to improve Afghanistan’s election system in the long run, but also to strengthen specific aspects in preparation for upcoming parliamentary elections.

DI’s Consensus Recommendations for Electoral Reform in Afghanistan can be downloaded here in three languages:

Download Dari Version

Download English version

Download Pashtu Version

Download all 437 recommendations for electoral reform in Afghanistan, here.