Sounds like a plan, Afghanistan!

Preparation for the August 20th elections is well underway in Afghanistan. With 40 presidential candidates and 3,000 candidates running for provincial council seats, the elections are central to the country’s future. But, organizing such an important election in such a complicated country is no easy task – over 17 million ballot papers and nearly 100,000 ballot boxes are currently being delivered to locations across the country. Ensuring that all materials are successfully distributed, safe and secure, and free of tampering is a great undertaking.

Thankfully, the country’s Independent Election Commission has some help from the UNDP with the UN’s project ELECT (Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow). In addition to providing logistical and technical support, project ELECT has also undertaken the role of training the media to inform citizens accurately about candidates and their positions as well as act as a watchdog on election day. The former is intentioned to help citizens make informed decisions while the latter is intentioned to ensure that the people’s decision is the one made on Election Day.

With the help of UNDP, now Afgans can get out and rock the vote!