Members of NDI's 2009 international election observation mission in Afghanistan presented their preliminary findings at a panel hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The Sept. 3 event featured NDI President Kenneth Wollack; Peter Manikas, NDI regional director for Asia; Kristin Haffert, NDI director of women's political participation programs; Karin von Hippel of CSIS; Karl Inderfurth of The George Washington University; and Christine Fair of Georgetown University.
Wollack described the mission as "by far, the most challenging observation mission we have ever carried out." NDI, he said, trained 31,000 Afghan poll watchers in the run up to the election in hopes of ensuring a transparent voting process.
Panelists paid particular attention to the security situation and its impact on the elections process, as well as the important role of women and women candidates. NDI trained 226 of 326 women candidates running for provincial council seats. Haffert, who met with a number of the women, called the candidates "some of the bravest women I've met in my life," a reference to the number of barriers they overcame in order to participate in the election.
Watch the entire discussion below (video courtesy of CSIS).
