Insurgent violence and threats have hurt preparation for Afghanistan's August 20 election and could prevent large numbers of terrified Afghans from voting, the United Nations said Sunday.
"Insecurity poses a threat to the ability of a significant number of Afghan to exercise their right to vote," a U.N. report, issued less than two weeks before the poll.
"It is not surprising that the fear as well as the covert and overt intimidation that characterizes the insurgency, creates an underlying reticence to stand for office and to campaign or to vote," the report said.
Taliban militants say they plan to disrupt the poll, which U.S. President Barack Obama has identified as the most important test of Afghanistan's political progress this year. Obama has rushed thousands of extra troops to the country to help secure the vote.
President Hamid Karzai, who has lined up the backing of many of Afghanistan's powerful regional chiefs, is seen as likely to win re-election against a fractured opposition.
Diplomats worry that sustained violence on polling day, threats that sharply reduce turnout or allegations of large-scale fraud could make it hard to present any result as legitimate, worsening the instability in the country.
Senior U.S. officials said on Sunday they expected the election to proceed as scheduled and would work with Afghan officials to create a secure environment for voters.
"The Afghan people are ready and waiting, and our aim is to ensure that there's a level playing field, that the Afghan people have an opportunity to freely choose their next leader in security," Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said on CNN's "State of the Union."
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