The IEC, including its administrative apparatus, should be a permanent body. The method by which members of the IEC are appointed should be revised in order to strengthen
confidence in their independence and impartiality. Consideration should be given to whether the appointment of new members ahead of future elections may increase crosspartisan support of the IEC. Its composition should be sufficiently representative and the selection of its members should be legally regulated.

The IEC should establish, by regulation, a clear hierarchical structure for the administration of elections that stipulates the jurisdictional powers of the IEC and its Secretariat, including regional, provincial and district administrators. In order to ensure full accountability, all policy decisions should be taken after full consultation between the IEC and its Secretariat and should be endorsed by a formal decision of the IEC.

In future electoral cycles, the current rule for majorities in the IEC could complicate decision-making and should be revised to allow for lesser majorities.

The Afghan National Consolidated Budget should open budget lines and provide some limited support to the IEC and ECC in 2006. International assistance will be required for some time, on a sliding scale matched to the Afghan authorities increasing capacities and revenues.

The training for counting centre staff should be considerably improved. Sufficient time should for envisaged for training programmes and all the areas of the country should be
effectively covered.

Greater emphasis could be placed on the importance of securing and accounting for unused ballots on Election Day. All sensitive election materials (unused and spoilt ballots and voters lists) should be accounted for upon receipt of the voting materials.

Procedures for quarantine of suspect ballot boxes and other sensitive materials should be developed and publicised well in advance of the count to allow greater understanding amongst agents and observers.

The provision in the Electoral Law that currently allows one member of the ECC to be appointed by the Supreme Court should be repealed. It is recommended that this position
be filled by a jurist or lawyer who is not a judge.

The ECC should stand outside the administration of the candidate certification process, which should be conducted by the IEC itself. The ECC should only function as an
appellate body in relation to IEC decisions on the eligibility of candidates.

It is recommended that the adjudication of complaints should be assigned to ‘Provincial Complaints Commissions’ set up as provincial branches of the ECC, not to be confused
with the provincial structures of the IEC.

The prosecutorial authorities of Afghanistan should treat electoral offences much more seriously and should devote appropriate resources to investigation and prosecution where needed.

A greater amount of technical support should be established for editors and managers of media outlets to assist them in covering the elections;

A scheme that grants access to the audiovisual media for candidates on an equitable basis should continue to be encouraged and set down in legal measures and developed into a framework with clear guidelines. Efforts should also be made to ensure that candidates whose constituents do not have access to audiovisual media are offered alternatives in the absence of access to radio and television.

Reserved seats for women should be retained, until women can access the political systems on an equal footing with men. Quotas, at the present level or higher, should be applied to all levels of elected government. However, the provisions of the Electoral Law should be amended to comply more closely with the Constitution. Currently, the Electoral Law contains a provision, which does not clarify whether or not female candidates can gain more than the minimum number of seats reserved for them.

Female candidates should have equal chances to campaign compared to male candidates. One of the measures to be considered should be for the Ministry of Education to allow the use of educational buildings in order to give female candidates some of the few locations where could possibly have their campaign activities.

The IEC should mandate compulsory photographs on women’s voters’ cards (in order to reduce the opportunity for men to vote on behalf of women). This should be facilitated
by having registration conducted by women in women-only spaces.

Training should be provided to candidate representatives and political party agents, so that their participation enhances non-partisan domestic observation.

The IEC, with the support of international advisors, should prepare and implement a large-scale public awareness campaign to inform voters effectively on the institutions emerging from elections.

Le cadre juridique dans son ensemble a besoin d’être substantiellement remanié avant de futures consultations électorales, en prenant compte de l’expérience des scrutins successifs du cycle électoral de 2005. Il devrait intégrer dans une partie réglementaire les dispositions pratiques indispensables à l’élaboration d’un cadre électoral uniforme et accessible.

Afin d’en assurer une meilleur lisibilité, le Code électoral et certains articles de la Constitution,le cas échéant, devront être débarrassés des nombreuses imprécisions, incohérences, et lacunes telles qu’abordées dans les différentes sections de ce rapport.

L’ensemble des textes constitutifs du cadre juridique, ainsi qu’une consolidation des décrets présidentiel et arrêtés de la CENI doivent être rendus accessible au public, en Français et en Kirundi. A cet effet, la création d’un site Internet de la Commission électorale nationale indépendante permanente, sur le modèle déjà existant du Site Portail des Institutions, constituerait un moyen peu coûteux d’en assurer la diffusion.

En respect de l’accord d’Arusha, et afin de ne pas nuire à la représentativité démocratique de l’Assemblée Nationale, la mise en place des équilibres ethniques et de genre ne devrait pas conduire à modifier les équilibres politiques issus du suffrage universel. L’ensemble des candidats d’une liste bloquée béneficiant d’une même légitimité représentative, le mécanisme de cooptation retenu pourrait privilégier un réajustement au sein de chaque liste.

Il serait souhaitable que la désignation des trois députés de la communauté Twa fasse l’objet d’un processus électif permettant de garantir leur légitimité représentative.

Afin de permettre une meilleure planification des opérations, le futur calendrier électoral devrait privilégier l’étalement des diverses consultations sur différentes années, ou envisager le regroupement des élections locales en une seule consultation.

La mise à jour régulière des registres électoraux devrait être de la responsabilité de la commission électorale permanente, sur base notamment des informations fournies par le ministère de l’Intérieur en matière de changements d’état civil : décès, mariages, etc. Elle s’accompagnera d’une période de correction décentralisée avant chaque échéance électorale, selon les dispositions du Code électoral.