Earlier this Morning

Work at the IEC has been picking up lately. Although the national staff does not seem to understand where I fit in, the UNDP-ELECT advisors, who are embedded in the External Relations Department, have had plenty for me to assist with. Most of my work consists of facilitating relationships with election observer groups and compiling and updating election-related information that is distributed to candidate agents, civil society organizations, and political parties.

Within the next few weeks the IEC will be opening a Media Center in a downtown hotel to accommodate the swath of national and international media that will be arriving in Kabul soon to cover the elections. My plan is to convince the head of my department to transfer my post there when it opens. The increase in international presence around the Commission is already noticeable. I regularly get to meet and chat with US Army and NATO public relations officers, reporters from papers such as the LA Times, and international TV correspondents hanging around the IEC for their next story.

Taking pictures of the compound is restricted due to security reasons, but today one of my coworkers snapped a few of me in the back of a briefing session for some of the presidential candidates' political agents. Turnout was not very good but it was still a great opportunity to relax and enjoy a cup of tea.