Afghanistan goes to the polls on Sept. 18 to elect
a lower house of parliament and councils in each of its 34 provinces.
Following are some facts and figures about the elections, being held nearly a year after President Hamid Karzai won a five-year term.
* About 12 million of Afghanistan's estimated 25-28 million people are registered to vote in the elections being organised by a joint Afghan-U.N. commission. The minimum voting age is 18.
* There are about 5,800 candidates standing for the 249-seat Wolesi Jirga (House of the People) -- the lower house of parliament -- and seats on 34 provincial councils.
* Polls will open at 6 a.m (0130 GMT) and close at 4 p.m. (1130 GMT) although voters still in queues at the close will be allowed to vote. Election day is a public holiday.
* Women have been reserved 68 seats in the Wolesi Jirga, which will have a five-year term, and a quarter of seats on provincial councils. The nomadic Kuchi community has been reserved 10 lower-house seats.
* Constituencies are the 34 provinces. Seat distribution has been determined by population estimates. Kabul province gets most Wolesi Jirga seats, with 33, while the three smallest provinces -- Nuristan, Nimroz and Panjsher -- get two each.
* Voting system is single non-transferable vote. Candidates stand as individuals, not as part of a party list. Candidates who win the most votes get the available seats in each constituency.
* Even though there is more than one representative for each Wolesi Jirga constituency, each voter casts a single ballot for their preferred candidate.
* Voters will get separate ballots for the two votes -- to parliament and to the provincial council. With many voters illiterate, ballots list candidates' names, photographs, personal symbols and numbers.
* Critics say a voting system that favours the individual over political parties might not produce a truly representative result. Ballot papers will be long in order to list all candidates, which might cause delays.
* Councils will be elected in each province, with from nine to 29 members, depending on population. A council's loosely defined responsibilities include participating in development and advising administrators.
* Each of the 34 councils will select a member to sit in a 102-member upper house of parliament, the Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders). Another third will be chosen by the president and a third by district councils. District council elections have been postponed so many upper house seats will be vacant.
* Provisional results of the parliamentary and provincial council elections are due by Oct. 10 with final results expected on Oct. 22.
Following are some facts and figures about the elections, being held nearly a year after President Hamid Karzai won a five-year term.
* About 12 million of Afghanistan's estimated 25-28 million people are registered to vote in the elections being organised by a joint Afghan-U.N. commission. The minimum voting age is 18.
* There are about 5,800 candidates standing for the 249-seat Wolesi Jirga (House of the People) -- the lower house of parliament -- and seats on 34 provincial councils.
* Polls will open at 6 a.m (0130 GMT) and close at 4 p.m. (1130 GMT) although voters still in queues at the close will be allowed to vote. Election day is a public holiday.
* Women have been reserved 68 seats in the Wolesi Jirga, which will have a five-year term, and a quarter of seats on provincial councils. The nomadic Kuchi community has been reserved 10 lower-house seats.
* Constituencies are the 34 provinces. Seat distribution has been determined by population estimates. Kabul province gets most Wolesi Jirga seats, with 33, while the three smallest provinces -- Nuristan, Nimroz and Panjsher -- get two each.
* Voting system is single non-transferable vote. Candidates stand as individuals, not as part of a party list. Candidates who win the most votes get the available seats in each constituency.
* Even though there is more than one representative for each Wolesi Jirga constituency, each voter casts a single ballot for their preferred candidate.
* Voters will get separate ballots for the two votes -- to parliament and to the provincial council. With many voters illiterate, ballots list candidates' names, photographs, personal symbols and numbers.
* Critics say a voting system that favours the individual over political parties might not produce a truly representative result. Ballot papers will be long in order to list all candidates, which might cause delays.
* Councils will be elected in each province, with from nine to 29 members, depending on population. A council's loosely defined responsibilities include participating in development and advising administrators.
* Each of the 34 councils will select a member to sit in a 102-member upper house of parliament, the Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders). Another third will be chosen by the president and a third by district councils. District council elections have been postponed so many upper house seats will be vacant.
* Provisional results of the parliamentary and provincial council elections are due by Oct. 10 with final results expected on Oct. 22.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.