US Election Observation Mission to the Afghanistan Presidential and Provincial Council Elections ...

144 Pages·2012·1.45 MB·English

U.S. Election Observation Mission to
the Afghanistan Presidential and
Provincial Council Elections 2009
FINAL REPORT
Revised and Updated,
August 2010

U.S. Election Observation Mission to the Afghanistan
Presidential and Provincial Council Elections 2009

Final Report

Revised and Updated

August 2010
Copyright © Democracy International, Inc. 2010. All rights reserved. This work may be reproduced and/or translated
for noncommercial purposes provided Democracy International is acknowledged as the source of the material and is
sent copies of any translation.

Democracy International, Inc.
4802 Montgomery Lane
Bethesda MD, 20814

This publication was made possible through the support of the U.S.

Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission to

Afghanistan. The opinions expressed herein are those of Democracy

International and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID.
Afghanistan Election Observation 2009
Final Report

DEMOCRACY INTERNATIONAL
Democracy International (DI), www.democracyinternational.com, provides analytical services,
offers technical assistance, and implements projects worldwide for democracy and governance
programs for the U.S. Agency for International (USAID) and other development partners. DI of-
fers expertise across the full range of DG programming, including election management and ad-
ministration, international and domestic election monitoring, political party development, local
government and decentralization, governance, legislative and institutional strengthening, civil
society development and advocacy, voter and civic education, and rule of law. The firm has ex-
tensive experience with analytical services, including assessments, evaluations, project designs,
democracy assistance studies, survey research, and strategic communications.
Over the past decade, Democracy International has worked in more than 40 countries and in all
regions of the world. Since 1985, DI’s principals have advised and worked with election man-
agement bodies, civil society and election-monitoring organizations, political parties, legisla-
tures, government agencies, and others in more than 70 countries. DI has worked extensively
with USAID as well as with other foreign assistance agencies, intergovernmental organizations,
international NGOs, and consulting firms.
Democracy International has endorsed the Declaration of Principles on International Election
Observation and the Code of Conduct for International Election Observers, announced by the
endorsing international election observation organizations at the United Nations in 2005. DI’s
principals have contributed substantially to the modern practice of international election observa-
tion and have helped launch and advised nonpartisan domestic election monitoring organizations
around the world and have directed numerous long-term monitoring programs and international
observer delegations. In the late 1980s, Glenn Cowan invented the path-breaking, sample-based
Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) election-monitoring methodology. Eric Bjornlund wrote a com-
prehensive study of election monitoring, Beyond Free and Fair: Monitoring Elections and Build-
ing Democracy (Wilson Center Press and Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004).

Afghanistan Election Observation 2009
Final Report

TABLE OF CONTENTS
MAP OF AFGHANISTAN ................................................................................................ ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii
DELEGATION MEMBERS .............................................................................................. v
ACRONYMS ..................................................................................................................... ix
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 1
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 5
PREELECTION CONTEXT .............................................................................................. 8
ELECTION ADMINISTRATION ................................................................................... 13
ELECTION DAY OBSERVATION ................................................................................ 34
POST-ELECTION PERIOD ............................................................................................ 37
RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................. 49
CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 57
APPENDIX A: PRESS RELEASES .............................................................................. A-1
APPENDIX B: OBSERVER REPORTS AND STATISTICS ....................................... B-1
APPENDIX C: SAMPLE ELECTION MATERIALS ................................................... C-1
APPENDIX D: DELEGATE BIOS ................................................................................ D-1
APPENDIX E: SELECTED LAWS AND REGULATIONS ......................................... E-1
MAP OF AFGHANISTAN
Source: University of Texas, Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
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Afghanistan Election Observation 2009
Final Report

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This report is based on information gathered through the ongoing work of Democracy Interna-
tional (DI) in support of Afghanistan’s democratic transition. It relies heavily on the findings of
DI’s election observation delegation to the 2009 presidential and provincial council elections. It
is also informed by DI’s ongoing effort to support election reform in Afghanistan. Although we
believe this report reflects the collective views of our observer delegation, DI takes full responsi-
bility for its content.

Each member of Democracy International’s delegation made a critical contribution to the mis-
sion, and we would like to express our sincere appreciation for their work. Delegates contributed
generously of their time and participated at considerable personal risk, and they should be recog-
nized for their commitment to democratic development in Afghanistan. We are forever grateful
to former Congressman Jim Moody for his ongoing commitment to democratic development in
South Asia and for once again serving as our delegation leader, as he did previously in Pakistan.
Biographical sketches of the members of the delegation are included in Appendix D.

We deeply appreciate the outstanding efforts of our team of core staff members and long-term
observers. David Avery served as Country Director and managed the implementation of DI’s
long-term and short-term observation, including preparations for the presidential runoff election.
Whitney Haring-Smith coordinated logistics and election-day planning and provided analysis of
election results and electoral issues throughout the audit process. Bill Gallery coordinated the
project’s finances, provided operational support in Kabul, offered technical assistance on elec-
tion monitoring methodology, and provided critical analysis of election issues. Belquis Ahmedi
supervised the efforts of DI’s long-term observers. Jeremy Wagstaff coordinated media relations,
including innovative attention to new media, with assistance from Evan Smith, Sari Sudarsono,
and Leslie Knot. Brian Katulis served as mission spokesperson.

DI greatly appreciates the efforts of its long-term observers: David Aasen, Marie Allegret, Tim
Fairbank, Chris Jackson, Hursh Joshi, Laurie Knop, Alexis Michel, Greg Minjack, Jennifer
McCarthy, Adam Sugar, and Ines Thevarajah. They conducted interviews and collected informa-
tion from around Afghanistan over a number of weeks. Laurie Knop deserves special recognition
for tackling a wide range of additional responsibilities with sound judgment and good spirit. Dr.
Najib Barakzai and Bihshta Rahi ensured DI’s Kabul office ran efficiently. Javid Jalali provided
interpretation and translation for the Kabul office. Abdullah Ahmadzai was an invaluable asset
providing high quality and reliable logistics services.

Scott Carnie, as DI Security Director, was responsible for the safety and security of each member
of the delegation, a role he performed admirably. Dave Cowey was an invaluable resource for
observers on security issues and much more. DI is grateful to the Olive Group for providing per-
sonal security details and general security support, and we thank Martin Callan, Kev Ellis, John
Campbell, and Mick Brown for their efforts.

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DI’s home office-based staff supported the mission throughout the life of the project. Bill Gal-
lery and Lawrence Lachmansingh coordinated all aspects of the project from Bethesda. Miki
Wilkins led DI’s recruitment efforts, oversaw deployment logistics, and served as the primary
observer liaison. Jed Ober and Will Covey provided operational, technical, and logistical support
in Bethesda and Kabul. Evan Smith led communications efforts from Bethesda and contributed
to media relations in Kabul. Bindi Jhaveri coordinated travel. Danielle Pearl supported observer
deployment in Bethesda and Kabul. Each of them traveled to Afghanistan to support the project
and participate in the mission.

We are grateful as well to Eileen Anderson and Debra Stuckey who patiently sorted out the
project’s complex accounting challenges. Emily Siedlak provided support to project accounting,
operations, and logistics.

Many people contributed to this report. David Avery and Belquis Ahmedi initiated the drafting
process, and each long-term observer contributed. Laurie Knop took on considerable responsibil-
ity for drafting and quality control. DI staff members Jed Ober, Bill Gallery, and Will Covey
helped write and contributed substantively to the report, and Tim Duvall and Jon Gatto provided
editing assistance. Eric Bjornlund also edited the entire document.

We would also like to thank the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan for facilitat-
ing observer accreditation and for their cooperation throughout the election process. Grant Kip-
pen and Peter Lepsch of the Electoral Complaints Commission were constantly available to DI
observers. Margie Cooke and Barbara Smith of UNDP-Elect provided invaluable access and in-
formation. We are grateful to Nader Nadery and Jandad Spingar of the Free and Fair Elections
Foundation of Afghanistan, Hannah Roberts and her colleagues from the OSCE Election Support
Team, Paul Rowland and members of NDI’s election observation mission, representatives of the
European Union’s Election Observation Mission, and countless other observers.

Finally, we would like to thank the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State
Department, including the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, for the support they have provided and
the confidence they have shown in Democracy International. We would particularly like to thank
Ben Garrett, Susan Stamper, and Goranka Henegar for their guidance and Niaz Gul Afghanyar
for his logistical support. We are also indebted to Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, Ambassador
Tim Carney, and other officials at the U.S. embassy for their support.

Democracy International is grateful to have had the opportunity to organize this important elec-
tion observation mission and for the continuing opportunity to support democratic development
in Afghanistan.

Glenn Cowan Eric Bjornlund
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