VZCZCXRO2902
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #1224/01 1330708
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 130708Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8882
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES PRIORITY 0047

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001224 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM AF
SUBJECT: PRELIMINARY NUMBERS FOR PROVINCIAL COUNCIL 
REGISTRATION SHOW COMPETITIVE RACES, INCREASING FEMALE 
PARTICIPATION 
 
REF: A. KABUL 891 
     ¶B. KABUL 1196 
 
¶1.  (SBU) With the May 8 close of the candidate registration 
period for the August 2009 elections, preliminary IEC numbers 
show 3,324 provincial council (PC) candidate registrations 
for Afghanistan's 420 PC seats.  As in 2005, candidate 
registration surged in the final 24 hours of the registration 
period - almost doubling the 1,725 candidates reported 
registered in the late afternoon on May 7. Female candidate 
registration rates exceeded those in 2005.  Break down by 
gender and province is at paragraph five.  The Independent 
Election Commission (IEC) is now focusing on scrutiny of the 
many candidate registration packets submitted during the 
two-week registration window (ref A).  Ongoing review may 
lead to the disqualification of some candidates (ref B). 
 
URBAN AND RURAL MIX 
--------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The urban province of Kabul led PC registration 
with 531 candidates signing up to compete for the 29 
available seats (21 male/8 female).  With 22 male and 8 
female candidates per available seat, Kabul has the highest 
ratio of any province by a significant margin.  Nangarhar, 
also urban, stands a distant second with 286 candidates for 
19 available seats (14 male/5 female).  This represents the 
second highest man-to-seat ratio after Kabul (19.5 to one), 
but a significant drop in the women's ratio (2.5 to one); 
Nangarhar is usually dubbed a Pashtun province.  Rural, 
northern Jowzjan with 75 candidates for nine seats (6 male/3 
female) holds the second highest proportion (five to one) of 
female candidates to seats.  Herat, home to the large western 
city, and rural Baghlan and Takhar rounded out the top five 
provinces for total number of candidates. 
 
WOMEN CANDIDATES TURN OUT 
-------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The electoral law reserves 25 percent of provincial 
council seats for women.  The 342 registered female 
candidates represent a 20 percent increase from 2005's 285 
female candidates; male participation increased only four 
percent.  Only two of the 124 female reserved seats lack a 
potential candidate - one in Uruzgan and one in Kandahar, an 
improvement from the four unfilled seats in 2005.  In 29 
provinces, there is a ratio of two-to-one or better of female 
candidates to quota seats, making these races competitive. 
Overall female candidacy stands around 11 percent, slightly 
higher than participation in 2005. 
 
NORTH LEADS THE SOUTH 
----------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The northeastern provinces of Badakhshan, Takhar, 
Baghlan and Kunduz had the highest regional participation 
with 120 or more candidates registering in each province. 
Nangarhar stood out in the east, but also has more than 
double the number of available seats and a higher population 
than neighboring Nuristan, Kunar and Laghman.  Helmand led 
southern provinces with 58 candidates, Uruzgan trailed in 
last place for any province with only 26. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Registration numbers from the IEC listed in order 
of total candidates: 
 
- Kabul: 531 Candidates, 464 Men/67 Women; 29 Seats, 8 quota 
- Nangarhar: 286 Candidates, 273 Men/13 Women; 19 Seats, 5 
quota 
- Baghlan: 197 Candidates, 189 Men/8 Women; 15 Seats, 4 quota 
- Herat: 189 Candidates, 163 Men/26 Women; 19 Seats, 5 quota 
- Takhar: 155 Candidates, 145 Men/10 Women; 15 Seats, 4 quota 
- Balkh: 141 Candidates, 125 Men/16 Women; 19 Seats, 5 quota 
- Kunduz:   131 Candidates, 118 Men/13 Women; 15 Seats, 4 
quota 
- Badakhshan: 120 Candidates, 110 Men/10 Women; 15 Seats, 4 
quota 
- Parwan:   115 Candidates, 109 Men/6 Women; 15 Seats, 4 quota 
- Ghazni: 102 Candidates, 93 Men/9 Women; 19 Seats, 5 quota 
- Bamyan: 99 Candidates, 93 Men/6 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Dai Kundi: 94 Candidates, 86 Men/8 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Faryab: 88 Candidates, 77 Men/11 Women; 15 Seats, 4 quota 
- Ghor: 82 Candidates, 75 Men/7 Women; 15 Seats, 4 quota 
- Jowzjan: 75 Candidates, 61 Men/14 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Paktia:   72 Candidates, 67 Men/5 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Samangan: 72 Candidates, 65 Men/7 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Laghman: 67 Candidates, 62 Men/5 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Kunar: 63 Candidates, 58 Men/5 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Sar-E-Pol: 62 Candidates, 52 Men/10 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
 
KABUL 00001224  002 OF 002 
 
 
- Helmand: 58 Candidates, 51 Men/7 Women; 15 Seats, 4 quota 
- Kapisa: 56 Candidates, 50 Men/6 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Panjshir: 52 Candidates, 45 Men/7 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Logar: 49 Candidates, 39 Men/10 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Badghis: 48 Candidates, 37 Men/11 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Kandahar: 45 Candidates, 42 Men/3 Women; 15 Seats, 4 quota 
- Wardak: 42 Candidates, 35 Men/7 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Khost: 41 Candidates, 35 Men/6 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Farah: 35 Candidates, 28 Men/7 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Nimruz: 34 Candidates, 28 Men/6 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Zabul: 34 Candidates, 28 Men/6 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Nuristan: 32 Candidates, 28 Men/4 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Paktika: 29 Candidates, 25 Men/4 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
- Uruzgan: 28 Candidates, 26 Men/2 Women; 9 Seats, 3 quota 
EIKENBERRY