Voter preparation proceeding well

Kabul, September 29, 2004 - With just 10 days to go to polling, preparations to give hundreds of thousands of refugees living in Iran the chance to vote in Afghanistan's presidential elections next month are proceeding well.

The IOM, on behalf of the Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), is overseeing what looks set to become the largest out of country voting for refugees every held. Over one million Afghan refugees living in Iran and Pakistan - the two largest host countries to the Afghan Diaspora - are expected to vote.

It is estimated that up to 600,000 Afghans in the country were eligible to participate.

Voting centers have been set up in seven Iranian cities where the vast majority of Afghans live: Tehran, Qom, Esfahan, Shiraz, Kerman, Zahedan and Mashad.