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| USAID
Information:
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Rebuilding Afghanistan
Weekly Activity Update for September 11 – 17, 2005
ELECTION SUPPORT
| National Assembly
and Provincial
Council Elections | 
USAID/Afghanistan supported women’s civic education.
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USAID has supported the growth of democracy in Afghanistan through assistance to the bodies
charged with running the elections and to the Afghan people to educate them in democratic
processes. USAID supported the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB), which provides
election planning, operations and logistics for Afghanistan’s 2005 elections.
In preparation for Afghanistan’s 2005 elections, the
United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) provided critical assistance
to the JEMB and supported election–related
activities and programs though its implementing
partners and Afghan NGOs.
USAID/Afghanistan provided assistance to the
JEMB so that elections could happen peacefully
with reduced possibility of fraud. 2004 and 2005
milestones that were met as a result include:
- establishment of a permanent multi-ethnic, mixed gender, Afghan Independent Electoral Commission;
- establishment of the JEMB Media Commission;
- formation of the JEMB Electoral Complaints Commission;
- passage of the Electoral Law;
- establishment of a permanent electoral compound;
- establishment of Provincial Election Commissions;
- intensive training in election procedures for over 100 staff within the Central and Provincial Election Commissions; and
- support for the JEMB post-electoral strategy group.
Election Support
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| Capacity building for Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections: candidates and supporters receive training on Election Day procedures.
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In 2004 and 2005, USAID/Afghanistan provided $40 million to UNDP/JEMB and an additional $25 million to support the
elections through its primary implementing partners: The Asia Foundation (TAF),
National Democratic Institute (NDI), International Republican Institute (IRI),
and International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES). Afghan NGOs provided
critical support towards the implementation of these programs.
To increase citizens’ understanding of democracy and the
electoral process, USAID/Afghanistan provided the following
assistance to the Afghan people:
- civic and voter education in all 34 provinces;
- a countrywide voter information campaign;
- significant technical assistance to the central and provincial
electoral bodies;
- training for Afghanistan’s independent candidates and
political party representatives;
- country-wide candidate agent training (up to 70,000
candidate agents);
- nation-wide distribution of civic education, polling and
political outreach manuals;
- media training for journalists and independent candidates;
- national distribution of a candidate profile catalog in
advance of the elections;
- sponsored campaign ads for candidates;
- national focus group study on election-related perceptions
and attitudes;
- fostered the emergence of a multi-ethnic, mixed gender
coalition of independent candidates; and
- domestic and international election observation.
Security Incidents
Number of Hostile Attacks: For this
reporting period, there were twenty eight
hostile attacks, in which one directly
affected USAID operations. There was
three persons killed, four persons injured,
and four were kidnapped.
Recent Incidents: Due to Provincial
Elections being held on September 18,
there was an increase in security
incidents. However these incidents failed
at disrupting the elections. The more
serious incidents included the murder of a
Wolesi Jirga (WJ) candidate; an
assassination attempt on WJ candidate,
night letters to polling centers, candidate
intimidation, and anti-election groups firing
upon polling centers and convoys
containing cast ballots.
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