Final Report - EU Election Assessment Team

At the invitation of the Government of Afghanistan and of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), the European Union deployed an Election Assessment Team (EU EAT) for the Presidential and Provincial Councils elections of 5 April, including the Presidential run-off on 14 June 2014. The EU EAT Afghanistan 2014 was led by Mr Thijs Berman, a member of the European Parliament. Mr Berman visited Afghanistan five times. Sixteen election experts from 12 Member States of the European Union (EU) were deployed in Kabul, Balkh and Herat, in order to assess the electoral process against Afghan laws and the international obligations for democratic elections. The EAT concentrated exclusively on the Presidential election. Given the limited geographical deployment due to security considerations, the EU EAT has focused mainly on the analysis of legal and regulatory framework, the electoral campaign in the media, the performance of election administration, the tabulation of results and the handling of complaints. For the observation of the audit, the EU EAT was reinforced by 410 observers, including 100 Long Term Observers, as well as observers seconded by EU diplomatic missions on the ground and EUPOL Afghanistan. The EU EAT is independent in its conclusions and adheres to the UN Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation.