In accordance with the 8 September 2009 order of the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), the ECC and the Independent Election Commission (IEC) agreed that auditing of suspect Presidential ballots shall be carried out through a random sampling of 313 ballot boxes.

The sampling and audit processes will be conducted on the basis of established statistical methods, with the aim to ensure that a clear outcome to Afghanistan’s 2009 Presidential election is reached without undue delay.

In compliance with procedures agreed between the ECC and IEC, the IEC will retrieve and examine the sample ballot boxes, and will present the findings to the ECC upon completion. The ECC will verify that the IEC conducts this process in accordance with the agreed-upon audit and recount procedures.

The ECC will use the information collected through this process in its decision-making, and all decisions will be final and binding.

Background

On 8 September 2009, the ECC issued an order to the IEC to conduct an audit and recount of ballot boxes for the Presidential election in identified polling stations.

Polling stations included in the audit are those for which the preliminary results indicate:
• The total number of votes is equal to or greater than 600, which was the maximum number of ballots allocated to each polling station;
• That any one Presidential candidate received 95 or greater of the total valid votes cast in a polling station (if the total number of votes cast exceeds 100).

Observation
According to the ECC order, audits are to be conducted in the presence of observers, agents, and representatives of the ECC.

Accredited candidate agents and observers are invited to be present. Agents and observers may take notes, but may not interfere in the process or obstruct the work of any IEC or ECC staff member. The IEC official in charge is responsible for a smooth process, and may ask agents or observers to leave the warehouse, or to take turns in accessing the warehouse, if this is necessary.

It should be noted that, in addition to the audit conducted as a result of the ECC order of 8 September, the ECC continues to investigate and adjudicate complaints submitted on and after election day (20 August 2009).