The Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) on Wednesday called for a more robust strategy for monitoring the spring electoral process, warning that unaddressed security issues could threaten the safety and efficacy of Afghan and foreign observers.
FEFA officials warned that abuses of the electoral process are more likely to happen if election monitors are under serious threat.
"There is a higher chance that electoral rigging and fraud might happen in insecure regions of the country if the safety of election observers is not ensured," said Muhammad Fahim Naeemi, the spokesman of the FEFA.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that it strongly supports holding of free and transparent elections in the country, but according to spokesman Neelab Mubarez, it does not intend to monitor the Presidential and Provincial elections on April 5.
As the country gets closer to election day, the first one that President Hamid Karzai will not be able to run in since taking power after the fall of the Taliban, security and legitimacy concerns – often times interwoven as in the case of FEFA's most recent remarks – have been growing in volume and frequency.
Nevertheless, with the NATO combat mission ending in 2014 and the security transition in its final stages, Afghan military and police officials continue to maintain that they will be able to ensure adequate security for the elections. There are those that doubt their assurances, but what has not seen any debate is the assertion that the spring vote will be a critical one in determining the future of Afghanistan.