The U.N. mission in Afghanistan on Monday urged the country to continue the auditing process in the presidential election run-off after several delays. The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement that it "urged the full commitment of the parties for the unprecedented and vital endeavor that should be completed without any further delays and interruption." The Independent Election Commission (IEC) and international observers, along with the cooperation of candidates, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, will audit the ballots. Jan Kubis, U.N. Secretary-General's special representative for Afghanistan and UNAMA head, had to reassure the candidates about the auditing process, saying in a statement, "it could not be otherwise given the high stakes and widespread mobilization of supporters they were both able to achieve over two rounds of voting." The U.N. proposal stated that the IEC will audit 23,000 boxes of ballots using a 16-point checklist, which looks for inconsistencies and patterns. The auditing process will begin this week. In an effort to provide assurance and security as the boxes are being moved to Kabul, IEC officials will accompany Afghan officials in an airlift operation launched by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
