IOM busy with voter education campaign

Peshawar, September 29, 2004 - As the time approaches for Afghans to vote on 9 October to chose their first-ever elected president, the voter education campaign being run by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for Afghan refugees in Pakistan is in full swing.

The educational strategy includes community meetings, radio and TV broadcasts and the distribution of voter educational material. For the vast majority of Afghans, this will be the first time that they are voting in a democratic election. Through extensive public awareness campaigns, the IOM intends to inform Afghans of their right to vote, and encourage female participation in particular.

Under the criteria determined by the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), everyone is eligible provided that they are an Afghan citizen, they left Afghanistan after 1979, and they are 18 or above on the day of the election.

The IOM's voter education campaign includes information only about the importance of voting and election procedure. It contains nothing on the candidates running for office.