Afghan officials have promised that polling workers who committed fraud in the country's August elections will be barred from any role in a November 7 run-off vote, UN envoy Kai Eide said on Friday. The August presidential elections were plagued by allegations of widespread fraud, and President Hamid Karzai agreed this week to another round of voting after coming under intense international pressure.
"I've been reassured by the Independent Election Commission that all staff that were directly involved in election fraud or all staff engaged in polling stations where significant fraud occurred will not be re-recruited," Eide, the UN special representative to Kabul, told reporters in Bratislava. "That's an assurance that I received. And I attach great importance to that and take it very seriously," Eide said on the margins of a meeting of Nato defence ministers.
The UN envoy said he did not expect to eliminate fraud in the run-off given the short amount of time to prepare for the election but he added: "what I expect and what we will try to do is to reduce the level of fraud." He said UN officials would monitor the government to ensure those linked to fraud would not work at polling places next month.
Eide estimated about 50-60,000 polling workers would be needed, less than half of the 160,000 recruited for the August vote. The election would be easier to organise in some ways compared to the last round, as there were only two candidates instead of 41 and no provincial polls, he said. The UN envoy said he was also concerned about turnout, as many Afghans viewed the election as finished and a public information campaign would be needed to educate voters about the second-round.
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