OSCE signs agreement with Afghanistan on support for presidential election

KABUL, 7 September 2004 - The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Afghanistan on Tuesday concerning the Organization's support for the Afghan presidential election on 9 October.

The Memorandum covers practical arrangements for the deployment of up to 50 OSCE election experts to locations throughout the country. Afghanistan is not an OSCE participating State but it became an OSCE Partner for Co-operation last year.

The OSCE Election Support Team, deployed in response to a request from the Afghan government, will analyse aspects of the electoral process such as voter registration, the work of electoral commissions, vote count and tabulation, as well as complaint and appeal procedures.

It will prepare recommendations for the Afghan government to help improve the conduct of future elections and improve Afghanistan' s legal framework and procedures.

"This is an important new departure for the OSCE," said Didier Fau, Director of the Office of OSCE Secretary General Jan Kubis, who signed the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the Secretary General. " This will be the first time the OSCE has been involved in an election outside our 55 participating States."

The Afghan authorities will ensure free access for the OSCE team to all aspects of the election process.