OSCE Chairman-in-Office welcomes peaceful conduct of Afghanistan's first-ever presidential elections

SOFIA, 10 October 2004 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, welcomed today the largely peaceful and orderly conduct of Afghanistan's presidential elections.

"We are very impressed by the remarkable numbers of Afghans that have braved threats against their lives and bad weather to come out all over the country to freely cast their ballots in Afghanistan's first-ever presidential elections," the CiO said.

"The fact that voting could take place in a largely incident-free environment makes this a landmark event. Yesterday was one of the most peaceful days in Afghanistan for decades," he said.

"The OSCE Election Support Team considered that demands to nullify the election were unjustified and urged candidates to take advantage of the Joint Election Management Board's offer of a thorough and transparent investigation of election day irregularities."

"I wish to wholeheartedly congratulate the people of Afghanistan for their courage and resolve. Let us hope that this election will open a new chapter of its national history," Mr. Passy concluded.