The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) contributed to the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow (ELECT) project to support the 2009 Presidential and Provincial Council elections and the 2010 Parliamentary elections.

By working directly with the Independent Election Commission (IEC) of Afghanistan, the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) and Electoral Media Commission, the UNDP-ELECT project gives Afghan officials the effective ability to provide leadership in these elections in areas such as:

• Registering voters.
• Recruiting and training election officials.
• Producing and transporting election materials.
• Verifying election results.

On August 20, 2009, millions of Afghans, men and women alike, went to the polls to elect their President and Provincial Council representatives.

© Government of Canada

A woman casts her ballot at a polling centre in Kandahar.

© Government of Canada

Election workers prepare for the election early on the morning of 20 August 2009 in Kandahar.

© Government of Canada

ELECT has achieved the following significant results to date:

• It has facilitated the delivery of the 2009 elections, including in the areas of:
  • Allowing the IEC to conclude the voter registration exercise that had started in October 2008 as scheduled.
  • Enabling the IEC to recruit and train temporary election staff as planned.
  • Procuring election materials and helping the IEC to deliver them across the country in time for elections – using 3,039 trucks, three ELECT helicopters, 35 chartered fixed wing flights and 3,171 donkeys.
• It supported the ECC in its adjudication complaints process on candidate nomination, the campaign period, polling and post-polling complaints irregularities.

• Canada's support to the Afghanistan Elections 2009
• Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan
• United Nations Development Programme Afghanistan
• Electoral Complaints Commission