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The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Tuesday urged candidates in the Asian country's presidential elections and their supporters to respect the two national electoral institutions as vote counting continues, a UN spokesman told reporters here.
Jan Kubis, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Afghanistan, called on the candidates and their supporters to wait for the release of official results, Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing, adding that Kubis also counseled them against making premature announcements based on unofficial counts, which could lead to confusion.
In a separate statement, the UN Mission in Afghanistan strongly condemned an attack in the southern province of Kandahar, which killed 15 civilians and injured another five through the use of an improvised explosive device (PP-IED).
The incident took place Tuesday on a road frequently used by civilians, according to a UNAMA statement.
"The Mission says that the use of such illegal and indiscriminate explosive devices may amount to a war crime," Haq said.
UNAMA reinforced its calls for an immediate end to the use of these illegal, indiscriminate IEDs. It has documented 187 civilian deaths from IEDs and injuries to another 357 during the first three months of 2014, a 13 percent increase compared to the same period in 2013.
Based on these figures, civilian casualties from PP-IEDs rose 93 percent, reversing a decline observed in 2013.
UNAMA highlighted that the use of illegal, indiscriminate IEDs may amount to a war crime. International humanitarian law, which binds all parties to the armed conflict in Afghanistan, strictly prohibits the use of weapons and attacks that do not distinguish between civilians and military objectives.
The attack came as vote counting continues in the country following Saturday's presidential and provincial council elections.
"The process is not yet complete," Kubis said following a meeting on Monday with officials from Afghan national electoral institutions. "Votes must be counted, complaints resolved fairly and efficiently, and the two bodies must cooperate closely to release the results in a transparent and timely manner."
The UN envoy noted that it is now vitally important to protect the impartiality and credibility of the election process so that the millions of ballots cast by voters can be translated into a legitimate outcome that is broadly accepted by the Afghan people.
Preliminary nationwide results are expected on April 24, and the final results on May 14, after the formal adjudication of all complaints.
