KABUL - More than 100 people gathered in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province this week to discuss electoral issues and form a new regional civil society network designed to address them.

Participants at the event, facilitated by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), established the regional network to connect civil society groups from five northern provinces with government officials at the provincial, regional and capital levels.

The meeting brought together provincial council members, academics, civil society representatives, human rights activists and journalists to identify the most effective ways civil society groups can contribute to electoral reform while encouraging Afghans to exercise their right to vote.

The provinces represented were Balkh, Sar-i-Pul, Jawzjan, Faryab and Samangan.

Balkh's Provincial Council chair, Ibrahim Khairandish, noted that the international community has provided technical and financial assistance to support democracy, and highlighted the critical role civil society should play in working with government officials to build a prosperous Afghanistan.

One participant at the event hailed the spirit of volunteerism as a way Afghans can work together for effective future elections.

"People must learn how to volunteer, how to put the national interest ahead of their own," said college professor Abdul Hamid Safowat. "Their capacity must be built by raising their awareness; that has to be done by civil society and local elders."

UNAMA is mandated to support the Afghan Government and relevant international and local non-governmental organizations to assist in the full implementation of the fundamental freedoms and human rights provisions of the Afghan Constitution and international treaties to which Afghanistan is a State party, in particular those regarding the full enjoyment by women of their human rights. (Tolonews)