News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

15 August 2009 - The Electoral Complaints Commission has urged provincial council candidates and their agents to be vigilant on polling day on 20 August so as to avoid fraud and other irregularities. Addressing a gathering of about 150 provincial council candidates from Nangarhar province in the…

KABUL - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned Saturday morning's suicide car bombing in central Kabul that has reportedly killed at least seven people and injured dozens of others, days ahead of much anticipated presidential and provincial elections across Afghanistan. In a statement…

16 August 2009 - The Independent Election Commission is continuing to roll out its training programmes across Afghanistan for the presidential and provincial council elections on 20 August. In the ancient city of Herat, forty nine polling staff carefully listened to Mahmoud from the Election…

17 August 2009 - One and a half hours north outside Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul is the peaceful province of Parwan. There are 324,000 registered voters here for the forthcoming presidential and provincial council elections on 20 August. And here, despite its proximity to modern Kabul, the…

KABUL - UNAMA information for media representatives covering Afghanistan’s 2009 presidential and provincial council elections. UNAMA is operating a special elections news service this week with articles, photos, statements, announcements, audio and other news materials in English, Pashto, and Dari…

17 August 2009 - In a country where regime change has often been violent the appearance of incumbent President Hamid Karzai in a live televised debate must have come as a surprise to many Afghans. Last night the country tuned in to Hamid Karzai, Ashraf Ghani and Ramazan Bashardost debate the issues…

KABUL - Patience is probably the one thing the electorate will need on polling day, which is just three days away. Election officials say on average a person may take up to ten minutes to complete voting. A voter should first stand in a queue before getting verified as genuine by IEC (Independent…

18 August 2009 - The candidate, clad in a simple salwar kameez, her head mostly hidden under a scarf, except for a tousle of thick black hair that deliberately manages to escape cover, enters a room filled with eager supporters. Smiles exchanged, and a few handshakes later, she gathers herself and…

18 August 2009 - UNAMA has compiled a Media Kit for journalists reporting on the 2009 elections in Afghanistan. The kit features information on the UN, the Independent Election Commission, the Electoral Complaints Commission, the Media Commission and key reports UNAMA has produced on the elections…

18 August 2009 - In Afghanistan voting at the local community level has paved the way for thousands of small scale development projects in recent years. The National Solidarity Program (NSP) was founded on the principles of grassroots democracy to channel resources to communities for projects…

18 August 2009 - The top United Nations envoy in Afghanistan appealed today to all groups threatening violence in Afghanistan on Election Day to allow their fellow Afghans to choose their future leader. UNAMA Radio: Listen to the SRSG's statement . At a press conference in Kabul just two days before…

I am shocked and greatly saddened to have learned that two of my staff members were among those killed in today’s suicide bombing on Kabul’s Jalalabad Road. A third colleague has been wounded and is currently being treated for his injuries. All are nationals of Afghanistan. At this time UNAMA is in…