Military

DATE=6/7/04

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=AFGHAN-ELECTIONS (L O)

NUMBER=2-316527

BYLINE=GARY THOMAS

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

INTERNET=YES

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

HEADLINE: Elections in Afghanistan Face Cash Shortfall

INTRO: The scheduled elections in Afghanistan face another potential delay due to a cash shortage. VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports from Washington that U.N. officials say international pledges of funds for the elections have not come through.

TEXT: Manoel de Almeida e Silva, spokesman for the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, says the elections -- already put off once -- could be delayed again if cash pledged by international donors does not begin to flow.

/// ALMEIDA ACT ///

"We do not yet have any money, not one cent, in the bank yet. And that's of concern because a number of services and goods must be ordered now so that they're ready for the September elections. And to order them we need to have the cash."

/// END ACT ///

Speaking by telephone from Kabul, Mr. Almeida said that 101 million dollars is needed for the elections. He says only 70 million dollars had been pledged, still leaving the United Nations electoral effort with a 31 million dollar shortfall.

Mr. Almeida says he is confident that the money will come through. But time, he says, is getting very short. Items such as ballot boxes and voter screens have to be ordered now if they are to be in place for the September balloting.

/// 2nd ALMEIDA ACT ///

"We trust that the money will come. I don't think there's any doubt that the donors will do it because they understand what it means and they are fully supportive of this process. The question is the timeliness of it because between now and July 1st, in order to place a number of orders we need 87 million dollars in the bank. And that's our concern."

/// END ACT ///

The elections, both presidential and parliamentary, were originally scheduled for June. Citing concerns about security and slow voter registration, interim President Hamid Karzai moved the date to September.

Mr. Almeida says three million out of an estimated nine and one-half million eligible voters have now been registered, and voter registration sites have now been opened in every province. A third of the newly registered voters, he says, are women.

But security remains a worry. On Sunday an electoral team came under fire in southeast Afghanistan on the road from Gardez to Khost. No one was hurt, but Mr. Almeida says the ambush underscores what he called "grave concerns" about security for the electoral process. (SIGNED)

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