"There is anxiety and everybody wants this process to be over as quickly as possible," said Wolfgang Weisbrod Weber, director of
He told journalists at the UN headquarters the world body had pressed the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) to conclude its work quickly without jeopardising the process so that a second round, if needed, could be held two weeks after the final results were announced.
Craig Jenness, director of the Electoral Assistance Division of the Department of Political Affairs, said the review was being undertaken to examine the issue of high voter turnout and large numbers of votes cast for one candidate or another in the elections.
A final determination on the number of participants at polling stations would be made after all ballots were scrutinised, including from the south. Only those considered legitimate would be counted, Jenness assured.
Reminded of charges that Special Representative for Afghanistan Kai Eide had sided with the Karzai government in endorsing the election outcome, Weber clarified he had supported the two bodies tasked with carrying out the investigation -- the IEC and ECC.
His mission was to examine regulations, including on the question of fraud, which would strengthen the institutions, Webber said, adding it was important to trust them and the mechanisms in place to detect fraud. "We'll see where the chips fall." He would not prejudge the outcome.
Asked who compiled information on the number of people at the polling stations and why "light monitoring" of those stations was needed, Jenness replied the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) had offices in 20 of the country's 34 provinces.
Over five days -- including Election Day -- UNAMA staff had examined the overall electoral environment by, for example, going out to at least four polling stations, talking to observers, candidate agents, local officials, police and military and sending their assessments to
That information had been collected and provided both to the ECC and the IEC "sometime after" August 25, he continued. Only those taking part in the election process could file complaints, accompanied by evidence, with the ECC.
However, the ECC was willing to take and consider information from various sources. In addition to the audit, it is reviewing the 2,500 complaints submitted by candidates. The UN had not filed a formal complaint. "If someone wants to get redress, we tell them where to go," Jenness remarked.
Pressed to clarify whether the UN had provided the information to the ECC, Jenness said those not participating in the electoral process -- the United Nations, European Union and others -- had no right to ask the watchdog to adjudicate on their cases.
It was out of an "abundance of caution" that the ECC had asked the United Nations and the European Union to send over any useful information. He did not know whether an 80-page internal report and spreadsheet had been handed over to the IEC or ECC.
As to remarks by Secretary-General's Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar that Peter Galbraith had been recalled for trying to bring about an unconstitutional government, Mullet said that was one of the various reasons. Galbraith wanted to close 1,500 of 6,900 polling stations, as they had been placed in volatile regions.
In the end, only 500 of those stations were closed. It was true that Galbraith had proposed annulling the elections and setting up a transitional government. He also had made assertions that were "completely out of bounds" with UNAMA's mandate.
Asked whether the UN had full confidence that Afghan institutions would act according to law, Weber said decisions to determine fraudulent voting rested with the ECC and he fully trusted that body. The Afghan courts had no role in that matter, he concluded.
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