This week's figures show that Jalalabad continues to lead the turnout of Afghans registering with a 29 percent of the total number of voters registered in all cities.

In terms of women's participation, Bamyan continues to have the highest proportion of women registering, with a 43 percent of the total 23,403 voters registered. This figure is followed by Herat, where a 29 percent of registered voters are women.

As you know we have been concerned at the lower number of women registering. Now however, the percentage of women registering is rising, and as part of the efforts to encourage their participation, mobile registration teams were initiated this week in Jalalabad and have proven to be very effective.

Now that the Constitution has been adopted, attention will naturally shift to the upcoming electoral process and therefore the Joint Electoral Management Body has asked us to convey to you that all eligible Afghans to attend civic education events and register to vote.

Among them, the acting governor of Balkh province, Habibulla Habib, registered with his deputy and 50 other governmental employees on Tuesday the 6th. In Kabul, the Director of daily Anis Newspapers, Armadsia Siamak, and his deputy, Alim Shafiq, registered, as well as the Director of Hiwad, Ajeruddin Eqbal, on Tuesday the 6th.

Other personalities registering include cinema actors Abdul Wali Talash and Humayoon Payiez.

The peace process has reached a critical juncture, he says. Although a great deal has been achieved so far, the Secretary-General notes "fundamental challenges need to be overcome if the peace process is to become irreversible and the relatively fragile institutions of State secured."

Addressing the problem of insecurity is a priority as it is a precondition for the success of the Bonn process. Security has deteriorated at precisely the point when the peace process demands the opposite. Reported attacks against civilians in the last three months of 2003 exceeded the number that occurred in the 20 months following the signing of the Bonn Agreement.

The report notes that infiltration of hostile elements to the Afghan Government from Pakistan to Afghanistan has remained a serious concern. It also states that the arbitrary rule of local commanders and the presence of factional forces in significant portions of the country continued to be another source of insecurity.

In response to this situation, President Karzai established Task Forces to deal with security issues over the short and long terms. The Task Forces include the Afghan security ministries, ISAF, coalition forces and the UN. The report also mentions plans for a stabilization plan aimed at bringing together security improvements, better local governance and reconstruction activities. The pilot programme is beginning in Kandahar.

The Secretary-General also established a link between security and elections. Security for electoral stations and staff, but also "an environment enabling free political organization and expression." In that context, he says, it is critical that DDR moves forward to limit the constraints on political freedom currently maintained by factional leaders through military dominance in the regions.

In the report, which comments on all aspects of the Bonn process, the Secretary-General also pays a special tribute to Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi, recognizing his exceptional leadership and commitment.

Copies of the report are available at: http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/sgrep03.html

Council members also emphasized the need to create a secure environment and deplored recent acts of violence in the country.

In their statement, the 15 Ambassadors paid tribute to the people of Afghanistan for their continued determination to restore Afghanistan to its rightful place in the community of nations. They also congratulated Lakhdar Brahimi on his very successful tenure as Special Representative in Afghanistan.

Copies of the statement are available in English.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan in a statement issued at UN Headquarters strongly condemned the heinous acts of violence, and sent his profound condolences to the Government of Afghanistan and the bereaved families of the victims.

Here in Kabul, UNICEF Representative Sharad Sapra, expressed its deepest condolences and sympathies to the families affected by this tragedy, and particularly to the families of the children killed, he also condemned in the strongest possible terms the criminals responsible for these senseless acts of violence.

The bomb attack on the people of Kandahar came a day after a device exploded in front of the UNHCR office in Kandahar.

Questions and Answers

Question: Just wondering if the bombing have had any affect on the UN operations around Kandahar?

Spokesman: As you know in the south and southeast our movement are very restricted as a result of security restrictions in the area. Immediately following the news of the bomb on Tuesday of course all movements were halted - no staff could move and were told to remain at their bases. Of course that restriction has been lifted but we evidently are following very closely the investigation that the authorities are carrying out on what was behind that bomb.

Question: Are you concerned this attack didn't seem to be targeted at anyone but children who happened to be there?

Spokesman: Until the investigation is concluded [only then] will we know whether the aim was the one that you are speculating on. It is absolutely unacceptable, reproachable, that whoever is doing these things is killing innocent people, children, who were in the area during the actual explosions. As once Mr Brahimi said in a similar case, as the President said, the people who are doing this are not friends of Afghanistan - they are the enemies of this country, they are the enemies of this peace process.

Question: Are you surprised that so few women have registered compared to men?

Spokesman: No, we were not surprised. We are positively impressed that the number of women is increasing compared to the beginning of the registration process. We know that registration of women is a question in this country because of the cultural patterns, due to lack of experience in voting and the traditional role that women have played in this country. We certainly hope that this registration process, not only will be able to have more women registering. But will also be part of, or will be the confirmation of the vision that you see inscribed in the new Constitution which declared men and women having the same rights, but which in addition to that stipulates that the lower house of parliament will have 25 percent of its membership being women. So that is a very welcome development, and we hope that the women of this country in their different communities will be able to register and express their choice in the election that will take place in the near future.

Question: There are rumours that commanders and government officials want to destabilize things in Kandahar because they have lost their influence, is this the reason for the latest bombings?

Spokesman: Your asking me to guess, I don't know the results of the investigation. In a country that is going through changes - and hopefully significant changes, it is possible that many people feel affected by it. What is not acceptable is that people still think that they can express their views by violent means. What the Loya Jirga has shown is that Afghans can accept differences and also showed a tremendous commitment to discuss and find consensus, which perhaps does not leave everyone happy, but gives everyone assurance that there is space for discussion and to reach an agreement that all can be part of.

Question: Is it possible to have the election on the chosen date in June?

Spokesman: We do not have a chosen date. The rate of registration is not moving as fast as needed if we are to meet a June election date. However, all efforts are being made to meet the closest possible date. Our colleagues dealing with the electoral process and Joint Electoral Management Body providing leadership have been in constant review of the voter registration plan in order to determine what if any changes can be made to create an added momentum to this process. Also have in mind, that the constitution determines that all efforts must be made for presidential and legislative elections to take place at the same time. That being the new maximum law of the country - we all have to abide by it and make all efforts to meet that determination.

Question: Do you have any reports on who will replace Mr Brahimi as SRSG?

Spokesman: No, we have no news yet on who the Secretary-General will appoint to replace Mr Brahimi. As I said in the last briefing, Mr. Jean Arnault, Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs is the acting Special rRpresentative, until someone is appointed by the Secretary-General.

Question: The election is in June or October?

Spokesman: I don't think October is a date, the reference remains June, but it is close to impossible to meet the June date with the current security conditions that do not permit registration teams to go throughout the country. But as I said, the electoral teams along with the security institutions will determine what can be done to expedite the process - if anything at all.

Question: Do you have a schedule for the cut of date for registration of voters and publication date for the enrolment list, how long might this process take?

Spokesman: No, I don't have a schedule to share with you at this point. But evidently these are the steps that need to be taken into consideration as we have the plan for the election. As you said, once you conclude registration you must have a period for publishing the voter list - for any possible complaints to be lodged and then you have the election.

Question: Apart from security reasons are there other obstacles to the elections taking place in 2004?

Spokesman: Security is indeed the main obstacle - there's no doubt about that. But you also have other challenges - other difficulties, for instance, until now no one knows how many districts there are in the country or what are the exact district boundaries. That is not a security issues, it's an institutional issue that has to be decided by the Government and that is a very important element if you're going to have legislative elections. Because for a presidential election - the constituency is national, you're all voting for the same national position. However, legislative elections will have to take into consideration the places where the representatives will be elected from, and in order to do this you have to have districts clearly defined. Another institutional issue is the electoral law - which does not exist, and needs to be drafted and adopted by the Government, which will then guide the entire electoral process. These are things that are less complicated than the security issue, which is indeed the main issue.

Question: The census, can you update us on how this process is developing and how will this affect the registration process?

Spokesman: The census is not related to the elections. They are two separate processes. The election process is not a census. What is happening now is the first phase - called the household listing. This is when people from the Central Statistics Office of Government are going throughout the country and they are identifying all the households - where they are and how many people live in those houses. This is the first phase. The census is when they will go back and ask all the questions that are asked in a census - to have a picture of the demographics of the country, which will be very useful for all kinds of development planning in Afghanistan. I would just point out to you that the attack we had a month or two ago in Farah province which was a team from the Central Statistic Office that was attacked by assailants, and I believe three of them were killed. That was one of the team that is going around the country and doing this phase of the census with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Question: The estimated number of eligible voters?

Spokesman: Ten million.