III 

Calendar No. 94 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 151 

Urging the Government of Afghanistan to ensure transparent and credible 

presidential and provincial elections in April 2014 by adhering to internationally accepted democratic standards, establishing a transparent electoral process, and ensuring security for voters and candidates. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2013 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. 

CARDIN, Mr. KIRK, Mr. DONNELLY, and Mr. COONS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

JUNE 25, 2013 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 

[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic] 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the Government of Afghanistan to ensure transparent 

and credible presidential and provincial elections in April 

2014 by adhering to internationally accepted democratic 

standards, establishing a transparent electoral process, 

and ensuring security for voters and candidates. 

Whereas Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission has 

affirmed that Afghanistan will hold presidential and proVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:47 Jun 25, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR151.RS SR151

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•SRES 151 RS 

vincial elections in April 2014 and parliamentary elections in 2015; 

Whereas Afghanistan’s current electoral process was established in 2004 by the Constitution of Afghanistan; 

Whereas the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework conditions some international assistance to Afghanistan on the 

holding of credible, inclusive, and transparent elections in 

2014 and 2015, among other measures to improve governance; 

Whereas Afghanistan lacks a comprehensive and accurate 

voter registry, and previous voter registration drives have 

resulted in duplicate or fraudulent registrations, according to a report by the National Democratic Institute; 

Whereas security concerns and voter intimidation have impeded the ability of people in Afghanistan to cast votes 

reliably and safely in past elections; 

Whereas Afghan women in particular are prevented from 

meaningful participation in the electoral process due to 

the security environment, the scarcity of female poll 

workers, and lack of awareness of women’s political 

rights and opportunities, according to the Free and Fair 

Election Foundation of Afghanistan; 

Whereas Afghanistan’s 2009 presidential election was characterized by inadequate security for voters and candidates, 

low voter turnout, and widespread fraud, according to the 

National Democratic Institute; 

Whereas Afghan officials, including President Karzai and Attorney General Mohammad Ishaq Aloko, disputed the results of Afghanistan’s 2010 parliamentary elections and 

established a Special Election Tribunal to investigate allegations of fraud; 


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Whereas, following the 2010 parliamentary elections, Democracy International’s Afghanistan Election Observation 

Mission concluded that comprehensive electoral reform is 

necessary to ensure a free, fair, and credible election 

process in 2014; 

Whereas the Honorable Hamid Karzai is the first democratically elected president of modern Afghanistan and has 

served two terms in that position; 

Whereas the Constitution of Afghanistan states, ‘‘No one can 

be elected as president for more than two terms.’’; 

Whereas President Karzai stated on January 11, 2013, 

alongside President Barack Obama, ‘‘The greatest of my 

achievements [. . .] will be a proper, well-organized, interference-free election in which the Afghan people can 

elect their next president.’’; 

Whereas, on several occasions since the late 1970s, civil war 

has broken out in Afghanistan over the legitimacy of the 

Afghan government; 

Whereas United States taxpayers have invested more than 

$89,500,000,000 in reconstruction and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan since October 2001, according to 

the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR); 

Whereas a democratically elected and legitimate government 

that reflects the will of the Afghan people is in the vital 

security interests of Afghanistan, the United States, its 

partners in the NATO International Security Assistance 

Force (ISAF), and Afghanistan’s neighbors; and 

Whereas the most critical milestone for Afghanistan’s future 

stability is a peaceful and credible transition of power 


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•SRES 151 RS 

through presidential elections in 2014: Now, therefore, be 

it 

Whereas Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission has 

affirmed that Afghanistan will hold presidential and provincial elections in April 2014 and parliamentary elections in 2015; 

Whereas Afghanistan’s current electoral process was established 

in 2004 by the Constitution of Afghanistan; 

Whereas the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework conditions some international assistance to Afghanistan on the 

holding of credible, inclusive, and transparent elections in 

2014 and 2015, among other measures to improve governance; 

Whereas Afghanistan lacks a comprehensive and accurate voter 

registry, and previous voter registration drives have resulted in duplicate or fraudulent registrations, according 

to a report by the National Democratic Institute; 

Whereas security concerns and voter intimidation have impeded the ability of people in Afghanistan to cast votes reliably and safely in past elections; 

Whereas Afghan women in particular are prevented from 

meaningful participation in the electoral process due to the 

security environment, the scarcity of female poll workers, 

and lack of awareness of women’s political rights and opportunities, according to the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan; 

Whereas Afghanistan’s 2009 presidential election was characterized by inadequate security for voters and candidates, 

low voter turnout, and widespread fraud, according to the 

National Democratic Institute; 


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•SRES 151 RS 

Whereas Afghan officials disputed the results of Afghanistan’s 

2010 parliamentary elections and established a Special 

Election Tribunal to investigate allegations of fraud; 

Whereas, following the 2010 parliamentary elections, Democracy International’s Afghanistan Election Observation 

Mission concluded that comprehensive electoral reform is 

necessary to ensure a free, fair, and credible election process in 2014; 

Whereas the current president of Afghanistan is serving a second elective term and the Constitution of Afghanistan 

states, ‘‘No one can be elected as president for more than 

two terms.’’; 

Whereas the current president of Afghanistan has committed to 

not seeking another term in office; 

Whereas, on several occasions since the late 1970s, civil war 

has broken out in Afghanistan over the legitimacy of the 

Afghan government; 

Whereas United States taxpayers have invested more than 

$89,500,000,000 in reconstruction and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan since October 2001, according to 

the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR); 

Whereas a democratically-elected and legitimate government 

that reflects the will of the Afghan people is in the vital 

security interests of Afghanistan, the United States, its 

partners in the NATO International Security Assistance 

Force (ISAF), and Afghanistan’s neighbors; and 

Whereas one of the most critical milestones for Afghanistan’s 

future stability is a peaceful and credible transition of 

power through presidential elections in 2014: Now, therefore, be it 


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1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) affirms that the electoral process in Afghan3 istan should be determined and led by Afghan ac4 tors, with support from the international community, 

5 and should not be subject to internal and external 

6 interference; 

7 (2) expresses its strong support for credible, in8 clusive, and transparent presidential and provincial 

9 elections in April 2014; 

10 (3) urges the Government of Afghanistan to 

11 conduct the elections in full accordance with the 

12 Constitution of Afghanistan, to include maintaining 

13 the quota for women’s parliamentary participation; 

14 (4) honors the sacrifice of United States, coali15 tion, and Afghan servicemembers who have been 

16 killed or injured since October 2001 in defense of 

17 the democratic rights of the Afghan people; 

18 (5) recognizes the substantial investment made 

19 by the United States taxpayers in support of sta20 bility and democracy in Afghanistan; 

21 (6) recognizes the contributions made by the 

22 government of President Hamid Karzai to the demo23 cratic progress of Afghanistan, including statements 

24 by President Karzai committing to hold presidential 

25 elections in 2014 and not seek a third term; 


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1 (7) recognizes that transparent and credible 

2 elections will safeguard the legitimacy of the next 

3 Afghan government and will help prevent future vio4 lence by groups that may be ready to contest a proc5 ess perceived as rigged or dishonest; 

6 (8) recognizes that a democratically elected and 

7 legitimate government is as important to ensuring 

8 the long-term stability of Afghanistan as the suc9 cessful training and fielding of the Afghan National 

10 Security Forces; 

11 (9) urges the Government of Afghanistan to 

12 recognize the independence and impartiality of the 

13 Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and an 

14 elections complaints mechanism with clear jurisdic15 tion over the final results, and urges all parties not 

16 to interfere with their deliberations; 

17 (10) urges the Parliament of Afghanistan to 

18 pass legislation that will establish a consultative and 

19 inclusive process for appointing elections commis20 sioners and allowing election disputes to be resolved 

21 transparently and fairly; 

22 (11) urges the IEC to adopt measures to better 

23 mitigate fraud, include marginalized groups, and im24 prove electoral transparency of the polling and 


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1 counting process and communicate these measures 

2 clearly and consistently to the people of Afghanistan; 

3 (12) urges the Government of Afghanistan to 

4 support a credible and effective electoral complaints 

5 mechanism whereby its members are perceived as 

6 impartial, it is given the ultimate authority on decid7 ing whether a ballot or candidate is disqualified, and 

8 it has the time and resources to do its work; 

9 (13) urges close and continuing communication 

10 between the IEC and the Afghan National Security 

11 Forces to identify and provide security for vulner12 able areas of the country during the election period; 

13 (14) urges the Afghan National Security Forces 

14 to make every necessary effort to ensure the safety 

15 of voters and candidates; 

16 (15) expresses its support for the full participa17 tion of Afghan civil society in the election process; 

18 and 

19 (16) urges the Secretary of State to condition 

20 financial, logistical, and political support for Af21 ghanistan’s 2014 elections based on the implementa22 tion of reforms in Afghanistan including— 

23 (A) increased efforts to encourage women’s 

24 participation in the electoral process, including 


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1 provisions to ensure their full access to and se2 curity at polling stations; 

3 (B) the implementation of measures to 

4 prevent fraudulent registration and manipula5 tion of the voting or counting processes, includ6 ing— 

7 (i) establishment of processes to bet8 ter control ballots; 

9 (ii) vetting of and training for election 

10 officials; and 

11 (iii) full accreditation of and access 

12 for international and domestic election ob13 servers; and 

14 (C) prompt passage of legislation through 

15 the Parliament of Afghanistan that codifies the 

16 authorities and independence of the IEC and an 

17 independent and impartial election complaints 

18 mechanism. 

19 That the Senate— 

20 (1) affirms that the electoral process in Afghani21 stan should be determined and led by Afghan actors, 

22 with support from the international community, and 

23 should not be subject to internal or external inter24 ference; 


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•SRES 151 RS 

1 (2) expresses its strong support for credible, in2 clusive, and transparent presidential and provincial 

3 elections in April 2014; 

4 (3) urges the Government of Afghanistan to con5 duct the elections in full accordance with the Con6 stitution of Afghanistan, to include maintaining the 

7 constitutionally-mandated allocation of seats for 

8 women’s parliamentary participation; 

9 (4) honors the sacrifice of United States, coali10 tion, and Afghan service members who have been 

11 killed or injured since October 2001 in defense of the 

12 democratic rights of the Afghan people; 

13 (5) recognizes the substantial investment made 

14 by the United States taxpayers in support of sta15 bility, democracy, and the rule of law in Afghanistan, 

16 including efforts to end public corruption; 

17 (6) recognizes the commitment of the Government 

18 of Afghanistan to hold presidential elections in 2014 

19 and the current president’s commitment not to seek a 

20 third term; 

21 (7) recognizes that transparent and credible elec22 tions will help safeguard the legitimacy of the next 

23 Afghan government and will help prevent future vio24 lence by groups that may be ready to contest a process 

25 perceived as rigged or dishonest; 


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•SRES 151 RS 

1 (8) recognizes that a democratically-elected and 

2 legitimate government is important to ensuring the 

3 long term stability of Afghanistan, as is the successful 

4 training and fielding of the Afghan National Security 

5 Forces; 

6 (9) urges the Government of Afghanistan to re7 spect and support the independence and impartiality 

8 of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and 

9 the need for an independent and impartial elections 

10 complaints mechanism with clear jurisdiction over 

11 the final results, and urges all parties not to interfere 

12 with their deliberations; 

13 (10) urges the Parliament of Afghanistan to pass 

14 legislation that will establish a consultative and in15 clusive process for appointing elections commissioners 

16 and allowing election disputes to be resolved trans17 parently and fairly; 

18 (11) urges the IEC to adopt measures to better 

19 mitigate fraud, include marginalized groups, and im20 prove electoral transparency of the polling and count21 ing process and communicate these measures clearly 

22 and consistently to the people of Afghanistan; 

23 (12) urges the Government of Afghanistan to 

24 support a credible and effective electoral complaints 

25 mechanism whereby its members are perceived as imVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:47 Jun 25, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\SR151.RS SR151

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1 partial, it is given the ultimate authority on deciding 

2 whether a ballot or candidate is disqualified, and it 

3 has the time and resources to do its work; 

4 (13) urges close and continuing communication 

5 between the IEC and the Afghan National Security 

6 Forces to identify and provide security for vulnerable 

7 areas of the country during the election period; 

8 (14) urges the Afghan National Security Forces 

9 to make every necessary effort to ensure the safety of 

10 voters and candidates; 

11 (15) expresses its support for the full participa12 tion of Afghan civil society in the election process; 

13 (16) urges the President of the United States to 

14 ensure that all United States Government efforts in 

15 Afghanistan are well-coordinated and are fully con16 sistent with the American taxpayers longstanding 

17 commitment to stability, democracy, and the rule of 

18 law in Afghanistan, including efforts to end public 

19 corruption; and 

20 (17) urges the Secretary of State to condition fi21 nancial, logistical, and political support for Afghani22 stan’s 2014 elections based on the implementation of 

23 reforms in Afghanistan including— 

24 (A) increased efforts to encourage women’s 

25 participation in the electoral process, including 


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1 provisions to ensure their full access to and secu2 rity at polling stations; 

3 (B) the implementation of measures to pre4 vent fraudulent registration and manipulation of 

5 the voting or counting processes, including— 

6 (i) establishment of processes to better 

7 control ballots; 

8 (ii) vetting of and training for election 

9 officials; and 

10 (iii) full accreditation of and access for 

11 international and domestic election observ12 ers; and 

13 (C) prompt passage of legislation through 

14 the Parliament of Afghanistan that codifies the 

15 authorities and independence of the IEC and an 

16 independent and impartial election complaints 

17 mechanism. 


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Calendar No. 94 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 151 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the Government of Afghanistan to ensure 

suring security for voters and candidates. lishing a transparent electoral process, and ennationally accepted democratic standards, estabcial elections in April 2014 by adhering to intertransparent and credible presidential and provinJUNE 25, 2013 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 


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