UN Electoral Support Project (UNESP) 2019 ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME DONORS PROJECT INFORMATION Project ID: 00105005 Duration: 01 October 2017 – 31 December 2019 ANDS Component: Governance, Rule of Law, Human Rights Contributing to NPP & ANPDF: NPP 1: National Transparency and Accountability NPP 6: National Human Rights and Civic Responsibilities ANPDF: 5.3.A: Reforming the Public Sector CPD Outcome: Outcome 1: Improved legitimate, transparent and inclusive governance at all levels that enables progressive realization of human rights UNDP Strategic Plan Outcome: Outcome 2: Accelerate structural transformations for sustainable development. Output 2.2.2: Constitution- making, electoral and parliamentary processes and institutions strengthened to promote inclusion, transparency and accountability. Total Budget 2017-2019: $ 134,488,151 Annual Budget 2019: $ 89,176,697 Unfunded Amount: $ 0 Implementing Partner: UNDP Responsible Parties: IEC, ECC Project Manager a.i.: Ali Al-Bayati Responsible Head of Programme Unit: Douglas Armour COVER PAGE PHOTOS: Polling day proceedings in summary [facial photo, thumbprints captured, inking, ballot paper issues, QR code generated, affixed and stamped, ballot cast] ACRONYMS ACCRA Afghan Central Civil Registration Authority ANDSF Afghanistan National Defense and Security Forces AWP Annual Work Plan BoC Board of Commissioners BVV Biometric Voter Verification BVR Biometric Voter Registration CE Civic Educator CECG Civil Society Election Coordination Group CEO Chief Electoral Officer CN Candidate Nomination CoC Code of Conduct CSO Civil Society Organization DAVE Digital Audit Verification Support System DC District Council DDEO Deputy District Electoral Officers DEO District Electoral Officers ECC Electoral Complaints Commission EDR Electoral Dispute Resolution EDSS Election Day Support System EMB Electoral Management Body ERD External Relations Department ESG Electoral Support Group EU European Union FAQs Frequently Asked Questions GoIRA Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan GBV Gender Based Violence HQ Headquarters IDLG Independent Directorate of Local Governance IEC Independent Election Commission IPOD Information and Public Outreach Department IT Information Technology MDR Multi-dimensional representation MoF Ministry of Finance MoIA Ministry of Interior Affairs MoU Memorandum of Understanding MoWA Ministry of Women’s Affairs NATO RS North Atlantic Treaty Organization Resolute Support Mission NEF National Election Forums NMP National Movement Plan NTC National Tally Centre NUG National Unity Government PC Polling Centre PECC Provincial Electoral Complaints Commission PEO Provincial Election Officer PIEC Provincial Independent Election Commission PMP Provincial Movement Plan PPOOs Provincial Public Outreach Officers Prodoc Project Document PS Polling Station PSA Public Service Announcement SOPs Standard Operations Procedures ToR Terms of Reference ToT Training of Trainers TV Television UK United Kingdom UNAMA United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESP United Nations Electoral Support Project USA United States of America VL Voters List VR Voter Registration VRC Voter Registration Centre VRT Voter Registration Top-Up WJ Wolesi Jirga TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... 1 EXPENSES FOR THE YEAR ............................................................................................................................ 5 II. RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................... 1 A. OUTPUT 1: Administration of credible elections is facilitated by the meeting of key IEC structural and planning milestones. .......................................................................................................................... 1 EXPENSES FOR THE YEAR ............................................................................................................................ 9 B. OUTPUT 2: Credible electoral dispute resolution (EDR) is provided by the ECC. .............................. 12 EXPENSES FOR THE YEAR .......................................................................................................................... 19 C. OUTPUT 3: Afghan public and political stakeholders are informed of the electoral process and committed to participating in the next electoral cycle in accordance with the law. ...................... 22 EXPENSES FOR THE YEAR .......................................................................................................................... 37 D. OUTPUT 4: A polling centre-specific voter list for the next elections is produced by the IEC. ......... 40 EXPENSES FOR THE YEAR .......................................................................................................................... 41 E. OUTPUT 5: The IEC and ECC provide credible administration of an electoral dispute resolution for the Wolesi Jirga and District Council elections, respectively. .......................................................... 43 EXPENSES FOR THE YEAR .......................................................................................................................... 44 F. OUTPUT 6: The IEC and ECC are able to provide credible administration of, and electoral dispute resolution for the 2019 Presidential elections................................................................................. 47 EXPENSES FOR THE YEAR .......................................................................................................................... 60 III. GENDER-SPECIFIC RESULTS ............................................................................................................... 63 IV. PARTNERSHIPS ................................................................................................................................... 65 V. ISSUES ................................................................................................................................................ 66 VI. RISKS .................................................................................................................................................. 68 VII. LESSONS LEARNED ............................................................................................................................. 68 VIII. FUTURE PLANS ................................................................................................................................... 70 IX. ANNEXES ............................................................................................................................................ 71 ANNEX I: FINANCIAL TABLE ....................................................................................................................... 71 ANNEX III: ISSUE LOG ................................................................................................................................ 73 ANNEX IV: RISK LOG .................................................................................................................................. 74 ANNEX V: KEY DEVELOPMENTS AROUND THE ELECTORAL PROCESS ....................................................... 78 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 2019 annual progress report for the United Nations Development Programme United Nations Electoral Support Project (UNDP-UNESP) covers the period 1 January to 31 December 2019. The report is structured around the outputs outlined in the UNESP Project Document (Prodoc) revisions of July 2018 and August 2019 and the corresponding Annual Work Plans (AWPs) for 2019. In 2019, the project was funded by Australia, Denmark, Sweden, the European Union (EU), Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States of America (USA). Consequently, UNDP-UNESP provided financial, operational, advisory and technical support to the two Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs), the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) of Afghanistan to achieve the following: Finalization of Wolesi Jirga 2018 elections: The IEC, with technical inputs from UNDP- UNESP on results processing, concluded announcement of preliminary Wolesi Jirga (WJ) results for 33 provinces (excluding Ghazni) within the first quarter of 2019. Thereafter, the ECC with technical support from UNDP-UNESP on analysis and investigation of 4,946 complaints registered against the preliminary results completed adjudication and review of 781 appeals. From mid-January to mid-May 2019, the IEC with technical support from UNDP-UNESP on results processing published final WJ results for the 33 provinces and awarded certificates to the 239 parliamentarians (66 women). Consultations on use of biometrics: The IEC engaged in discussions on the use of biometrics in the electoral process and timelines for successful implementation. After further discussions, in mid-May, the IEC announced the decision to use biometric voter verification (BVV) on election day. Consequently, IEC with technical inputs from UNDP- UNESP, and coordination with the service provider used the biometric devices as electronic pollbooks and for transmission of result information. Presidential election candidate nomination: The candidate nomination (CN) process resulted in 18 potential candidates submitting documentation. Once