BRUSSELS: The European Union said yesterday it will send observers to monitor presidential and local elections in Afghanistan next month, as US-led Nato forces prepare to withdraw by the end of the year.
Thijs Berman, a Dutch member of the European Parliament, will lead a team of 15 observers for the polls at which President Hamid Karzai stands down after two terms, EU foreign policy head Catherine Ashton said.
The elections “offer the opportunity of the first democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan’s history,” Ashton said. The observer team “will play its part in helping ensure the elections are as credible, inclusive and transparent as possible.” AFP
