Chinese envoy asks for efforts to facilitate holding of presidential poll in Afghanistan

A Chinese envoy on Monday asked for efforts to facilitate the holding of the presidential election in Afghanistan, which was scheduled for July.

"We should facilitate the successful holding of the election," Wu Haitao, the charge d'affaires of China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, told the Security Council.

"We hope the new Independent Election Commission will scale up its preparations for the presidential election. We also hope that UNAMA will provide technical support to the commission," said Wu, referring to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

In addition, in the light of the development on the ground, UNAMA should adjust its mandate, and the mission and other mechanisms should carry out a comprehensive assessment on the country's reconstruction in the new situation, said Wu.

All parties in Afghanistan, he said, should enhance unity and take national stability as their shared responsibility and address their differences through dialogue.

The top UN envoy for Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, warned on Monday that the holding of the presidential election on schedule will be "very challenging."

The widespread reports of irregularities during parliamentary elections in October 2018 undermined confidence in the electoral management bodies. As a result, the country's Election Law had to be amended and the Independent Election Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission had to be reshuffled, he told the Security Council.

"With less than five months remaining until election day, the technical and political challenges are daunting," said Yamamoto, the UN secretary-general's special representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.