Contact: Josh Holly; 202.226.3988
McKeon Statement on Afghan Presidential and Provincial Elections
SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA – U.S. House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA) today released the following statement regarding Afghanistan’s presidential and provincial elections:
“Today, Afghans returned to the polls to directly elect their president for only the second time in the country’s history. Equally important to a maturing democracy, Afghans also voted for their provincial council representatives, officials who will administer local governments and deliver essential services directly to the population.
“Afghans should be praised for participating in the process to select their leadership—despite the overwhelming threat of violence. While initial reports indicate that turnout was dampened because of terrorist threats and attacks, it appears that the Taliban did not achieve its goal of disrupting the election on a massive scale.
“We look forward to receiving the initial results. The newly elected leadership will have the responsibility of working with the international community to protect the Afghan population and restore confidence in the national and provincial governments.”
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Rep. McKeon recently led a Congressional fact-finding delegation (CODEL) to Afghanistan. During the trip, McKeon met with senior American, international and Afghan military and civilian leaders, including General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan and NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF); Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, the senior U.S. diplomat to Afghanistan; and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Upon his return, McKeon also called on the President to provide the necessary time and resources for U.S. commanders, troops and diplomats to succeed in Afghanistan.