[ Afghan Elections 2004-2005 ]

Voter registration for Afghan refugees living in Pakistan came to a close on 4 October with an estimated 650,000 expatriate Afghans registering to vote in their country's presidential election, international news agencies reported. According to Peter Erban, director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the "response of the Afghan community in Pakistan has been very enthusiastic," IRNA reported on 4 October, quoting an IOM press release. Around 600,000 Afghan refugees living in Iran are also eligible to vote, the BBC reported on 4 October. While the expatriate Afghans who have registered make up about 10 percent of the total number of Afghans eligible to vote, another estimated 2 million Afghans, also living in Iran and Pakistan, were not registered. "It was regrettable that registration was not possible for some areas. The limited timeframe available to conduct the program was not sufficient to allow the establishment of facilities all over Pakistan," Erban said, according to the IRNA report. Registration for Afghan refugees in Pakistan began on 1 October and was originally scheduled to last three days. It was then extended an extra day (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 October 2004). (Amin Tarzi)