Security Council welcomes certification of Karzai as winner of Afghan elections

The Security Council today welcomed the certification by the joint United Nations-Afghan electoral board of interim President Hamid Karzai as the winner of Afghanistan's first-ever presidential elections last month.

Council members recognized "the historic importance" of the first popular presidential elections in Afghanistan's history, and gave credit to the Joint Electoral Monitoring Board (JEMB), international security forces, neighbouring States and especially to the people of Afghanistan for their role in ensuring the success of the electoral process, Ambassador John C. Danforth of the United States, which holds the Council's rotating presidency for the month of November, said in a statement to the press.

They also were satisfied that the other presidential candidates had recognized the outcome of the election, he added.

Looking toward parliamentary, provincial and district elections planned for next year, the members expressed hope that balloting for those posts will be "executed as peacefully and successfully as the presidential election," the Council President said.

"In preparation for these elections, Council members reiterated their determination to continue to provide unwavering support" to the Government in the fight against narcotics and the reinforcement of security, he said.

The Council's statement came after it heard a briefing by UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno. He told the 15-member body that more than eight million Afghans - representing some 70 per cent of registered voters, 40 percent of whom were women - participated in the 9 October balloting.

"The presidential election has demonstrated that Afghans have a strong national denominator in their common embrace of the democratic process," Mr. Guéhenno said. "This momentous development is one of the most encouraging features of Afghanistan today, against a backdrop of continued challenges posed by narcotics, extremism and factionalism."

He warned the international community, however, against the "temptation to diminish" its attention on Afghanistan. "While Afghans have shown a remarkable political maturity, they must still be able to count on full backing - economic, financial, political and military - of the international community."