UNDP, UN Election Support Programme, Afghanistan 2018-2022 UNDP, UN Election Support Programme, Afghanistan 2018-2022 UNDP/UNAMA has applied for support to the project UNESP “UN Election Support Project” for funding of the upcoming elections in Afghanistan during 2018-2019 (the planned 2018 parliamentary election, and the planned 2019 presidential election).

The project has two overall objectives:

1. To build the capacity of the Afghan electoral institutions (the Independent Election Commission, IEC, and the Election Complaints Commission, ECC) to implement elections in line with the national electoral legal framework and Afghanistan’s international commitments.

2. To allow a programming mechanism for the international community to partially finance the elections as per the request of the Government of Afghanistan.

UNAMA/UNDP with the financial support from the international community will support IEC and ECC in implement the national elections, as stated above, during 2018 and 2019. The international donors to the elections are EU, USAID, Japan, Germany, Norway, UK and Denmark.

The total budget for the planned elections amounts to USD 104 359 721. UNDP/UNAMA har inkommit med en ansökan om stöd till programmet UNESP "UN Election Support Project” inför de kommande valen i Afghanistan under 2018-2019 (2018 planeras parlamentsval och 2019 det planerade presidentvalet).

Projektet har två övergripande mål:

1. Att bygga kapacitet hos de afghanska valinstitutionerna (oberoende valkommissionen, IEC och kommissionen för klagomål i samband med val, ECC) för att genomföra val i enlighet med den nationella lagstiftningen och Afghanistans internationella åtaganden.

2. Att tillåta en programmeringsmekanism för det internationella samfundet att delfinansiera valet enligt begäran från Afghanistans regering.

UNAMA/UNDP, med finansiellt bistånd från det internationella samfundet, kommer att stödja IEC och ECC vid genomförandet av de nationella valen, som anges ovan, under 2018 och 2019. De internationella givarna till valet är EU, USAID, Japan, Tyskland, Norge, Storbritannien och Danmark. 

Den totala budgeten för det planerade valet är USD 104 359 721. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has submitted a proposal for support to "the UN Electoral Support Project (UNESP) 2017-2019", being the international community's programming vehicle to support the coming elections in Afghanistan, including the parliamentary elections announced for 20 October 2018, as well as the presidential and provincial elections on 20 April 2019. 
The UNDP approach to supporting the electoral process in Afghanistan is derived from the "electoral cycle approach", wherein support to the elections should be process- rather than event-driven. This approach is in line with Sida's approach of supporting longer-term democratisation processes rather than just an electoral event. The assistance has evolved over time, allowing the Afghan government to take greater ownership both financially, as the commitment from the government has grown over time, and perhaps, more importantly, institutionally as the electoral institutions - although still weak - have continued developing their capacity.
Sida has been supporting the elections in Afghanistan since 2012 through the ELECT II 2012 – 2013, and ELECT II 2014-2015. The current project, UNESP (UN Electoral Support Project), is a successor of the ELECT II (Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow) and is a pool funding mechanism with donor support from EU, USAID, Japan, Germany, Norway, UK and Denmark.
The Project has two overall objectives for holding credible elections and for minimizing institutional and financial challenges:
1) to build the capacity of the Afghan electoral institutions (Independent Election Commission, IEC, and the Electoral Complaints Commission, ECC) to implement elections in line with the national electoral framework and Afghanistan's international commitments;
2) to allow a programming mechanism for the international community to partially finance elections as per the request of the Government of Afghanistan.    
UNESP will have a significantly smaller "footprint", both technically and financially, than the previous UN election assistance projects. UNESP will support the two electoral institutions - the Independent Election Commission and the Election Complaints Commission - but also the Afghan civil society's civic and voter education and observations efforts to enhance the quality and quantity of participation in the electoral process.