The UN special envoy to Afghanistan proposed on Wednesday to postpone the country's parliamentary elections scheduled for May in order to assure security during the polls and prevent fraud.
"The IEC has announced that elections for the next parliament will take place on 22 May - in accordance with the Constitution. I cannot criticize the IEC - and the political leaders that were consulted - for adhering to the Constitution. But there are technical reasons that will make it challenging to keep this timeline," Kai Eide said during a meeting of the UN Security Council, adding "security remains a major concern."
Earlier on Wednesday, Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission announced its plans to hold the elections to the lower house of the country's parliament on May 22.
Eide said article 55 of the Afghan electoral law gives the IEC the right to postpone elections "on the basis of security, financial or technical considerations."
"Should Afghan authorities make use of this provision, then elections could be held later in the year in a way that still respects the Afghan legal framework," he said.
He also pointed to the fraud which took place during the country's last year's presidential elections, won by Hamid Karzai.
"During the last elections, there was widespread fraud, which demonstrated the weakness of electoral institutions and a difficult security situation," the diplomat said.
"There was also a perception of international interference, which undoubtedly also occurred - before and after election day," he said, adding "both must be eliminated in future election processes."
Following the Afghan presidential polls, Kai Eide was accused by his deputy, Peter Galbraith, of concealing election fraud that benefited Karzai's campaign.
Galbraith was dismissed by UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon following the scandal, and Eide said he would leave the position after his contract expired in March 2010.
UNITED NATIONS, January 6 (RIA Novosti)
