Elections in Afghanistan draw closer

Published: 13 August 2009 y., Thursday

Musulmonė eina pro mečetę (Afganistanas)
The Afghan presidential elections are soon to take place and the election campaign is in full swing.

“There is great interest in the elections which is very pleasing. Kabul is covered in election posters”, says Svante Kilander, Swedish Ambassador and representative of the EU Presidency in Afghanistan.

The embassy, in its role as representative of the EU Presidency, has organised a series of meetings between each of the most prominent presidential candidates and all the EU embassies in the country.

“We discuss with and pose questions to the candidates; the same kind of questions that would be asked in an election campaign in Europe. This has resulted in very good and interesting meetings that have been greatly appreciated in EU circles and, I believe, by the candidates themselves”, says Svante Kilander.

The most important issue in these elections, according to Svante Kilander, is the issue of corruption.

“This is a major and widespread problem in the country. I think that both the candidates and the voters agree completely on this.”

Another important issue is the status of women in the country. There are two women candidates standing for election. They were the first to be invited to the embassy’s meetings.

“It is important that there are women candidates. They spoke at great length about the status and rights of Afghan women. Both candidates have received attention from international media.”

The President of Afghanistan is appointed for a five-year term. Approximately forty candidates stand in the election, which takes place on 20 August.

“But there is a risk that there will be a second round of elections and then the elections may be delayed.”

The first democratic elections took place in 2004, bringing the current president Hamid Karzai to power and he is now running for re-election. Much of the Swedish Embassy’s work concerns the election, but as representative of the EU Presidency, the embassy is also responsible for meetings in other areas.

“Our agenda becomes both deeper and broader, what with the Presidency. We are now chairing a series of meetings that we would previously only attend; meetings addressing issues such as consular matters, security policy, human rights and aid. The fun thing about the Presidency is that you are given a more important role in a broader context. We are involved in everything that happens.”

With disturbances in Afghanistan on the increase, the embassy and EU circles have been affected in that they follow the situation and analyse developments.

“There was an incident involving rocket fire here in Kabul the other night, so we have to take measures to ensure our own safety.”

The Swedish Embassy opened last year. Svante Kilander is Sweden’s first Ambassador to the country. Altogether, there are 18 EU countries that have embassies in Afghanistan.


 

Šaltinis: europa.eu
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

Parliament gets ready for the Lisbon Treaty

Parliament is preparing for the increased powers it is set to receive under the new Lisbon Treaty. more »

Boat sinks in Indian Ocean

Rescue teams searched the Indian Ocean for survivors after a fishing boat carrying at least 40 people sank. more »

Karzai declared Afghan president

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's continuation in the post was announced by the country's election commission on Monday. more »

Anniversaries this year: From the Hitler-Stalin Pact to the fall of the Berlin Wall

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between Hitler and Stalin to split parts of Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic States between them, but it is also 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. more »

Final political hurdle cleared – road to Lisbon open

“I am pleased to announce that the European Council has this evening agreed to accept the exemption that the President of the Czech Republic has requested in order to be able to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon”, said Fredrik Reinfeldt at the press conference that concluded the first day of the EU summit. more »

Former Nazi officer stands trial

88-year old Heinrich Boere – a former SS soldier - is on the Simon Wiesenthal Center's list of top ten World War Two criminals. more »

French Scientology guilty of fraud

A Paris court has found the Church of Scientology guilty of fraud and fined it 600,000 euros - that's just over 900,000 dollars. Four church leaders in France were also given suspended prison sentences. more »

New German government

The new German government, e.g. party led by Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, signed a coalition with the Free Democrats Party, started working with strong decisions – they are bringing in 21 billion euros of tax relief in 2010 - and more income tax relief from 2011. more »

China drought worst in decades

With drought across southern, central and eastern China, rivers are falling to historic low levels. more »

Mallorca building collapses

At least four people were killed when a building gave way on the Spanish island in Mallorca. more »