OSCE says will monitor second round of Afghan election

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has said its experts will remain in Afghanistan to monitor the second round of the country`s presidential election on November 7.

Vienna: The Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has said its experts will remain
in Afghanistan to monitor the second round of the country`s
presidential election on November 7.

The OSCE`s Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR) kept a small presence in Afghanistan to
follow developments after the release of preliminary results
for the first round and is now increasing the number of
experts to seven in the run-up to the second round, it said in
a statement.

"In the coming weeks, the experts will follow the
final preparations for the second round, election day
proceedings, the count and tabulation of results and the
complaints process," it said.

"The ODIHR experts will continue to offer advice to
election stakeholders in Afghanistan, including election
administration bodies and domestic observer groups, in close
co-ordination with other international actors," it added.

The experts will not make a public statement
immediately after election day, said the OSCE, but will later
submit a report of their findings and recommendations to the
Afghan government and OSCE member states.

Afghanistan`s Independent Election Commission (IEC)
said Tuesday that President Hamid Karzai won 49.67 per cent of
the first round August vote, less than the 50 per cent needed
to win outright, forcing the contest to a second round.

Bureau Report

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