News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

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…

NEW YORK - 18 August 2009 - Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on the deaths of UNAMA staff members in Kabul, Afghanistan The Secretary-General is deeply distressed by the news that two Afghan UN staff members were killed, and a third injured, in a suicide attack in…

18 August 2009 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced his deep distress at the news that two United Nations staff members were among those killed in today’s suicide bombing in Kabul, which reportedly killed at least seven people, just two days ahead of Afghanistan’s presidential and provincial…

NEW YORK - The Secretary-General encourages all Afghan women and men eligible to vote to cast their ballot in the upcoming Presidential and Provincial Council elections on 20 August 2009. He notes that, by participating in these elections, the Afghan people will help Afghanistan strengthen its…

BALKH - Election fever is sweeping the north of the country from Balkh to Jawzjan, Faryab and Sar-i-Pul. This election will be decisive for the future of Afghanistan, everybody knows it. But the main question remains: Who’s the next president? The debate across Afghanistan has been vibrant…

19 August 2009 - “Can you help me choose a good person as president?” asks a woman voter in a blue burqa to the ballot paper issuer at a mock polling station. “No, we cannot tell you who to vote for. This is your decision,” replies the polling official in a mock election set-up in Bamyan. “I have…

19 August 2009 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged all eligible Afghan men and women to cast their ballots in tomorrow’s presidential and provincial elections, saying their votes will play a crucial role in helping the country on the path towards greater stability and democracy. In a statement…

19 August 2009 - With the campaigning period over and Election Day just hours away, the fates of the 41 presidential contenders are now in the hands of the nearly 17 million Afghan voters.However, for most candidates, the work towards get elected – or re-elected – to the highest office in…

KABUL - Election officials in eastern Afghanistan are working relentlessly in the final hours of preparations before polling opens at 7 am tomorrow. The stage has already been set in most of the districts, while officials said they will work overnight to get the job done in Nuristan and Kunar…

KABUL - On Election Day UNAMA will have ten photographers deployed across the country led by world renowned photo-journalist Tim Page. Follow the day in pictures online. UNAMA Photos: The campaign so far in 500 pictures

KABUL - The huge logistical operation for the elections has been massive from 36 million ballot papers to more than 3,000 donkeys. Read some of the key statistics on the elections. Printed presidential ballot papers: 18,030,000 Printed provincial council ballot papers: 18,007,700 Mock ballot papers…

Elections 2009 - The UN’s top envoy in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, has urged Afghans to vote and called on groups threatening violence to allow their fellow Afghans to choose their future leader. Mr Eide added that when the elections are over “the political establishment must come together and…