A senior United Nations official on Wednesday urged Afghans to actively participate and use Saturday's presidential and provincial council elections to shape the future of the country through peaceful, democratic means.

"This is your chance, this is your right; you should not allow anyone to deprive you of your right to go and vote and determine, by peaceful democratic means, the future of your country," said the UN secretary-general's special representative for Afghanistan, Jan Kubis.

His comments came ahead of the official campaigning period that ends Wednesday night for candidates in the upcoming polls Saturday, which will lead to the country's first democratic transfer of power.

The elections come at a crucial time for the country, which will see the withdrawal of the majority of allied international military forces this year, with the country's national forces to assume full responsibility for security countrywide.

"The election will mark yet another indispensable step in moving forward in building democracy, but also in providing the necessary legitimacy to the next leadership," said Kubis, also head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

He briefed reporters on the preparations for the elections in Afghanistan, which are led and managed by Afghans, as well as his recent meeting with the UN Security Council at UN Headquarters in New York.

Kubis also noted that there was a hope on the part of the Security Council that the Afghan people will come through the elections "with flying colors," given that the country is much better prepared for these polls than they were during the elections in 2009.

"Yes, there might be difficulties and security problems," said the envoy. "Nevertheless, the overall preparations, the overall atmosphere is much better."

Kubis has also urged Afghan women to maintain and build on the momentum behind a recent petition, signed by more than 250,000 women and girls, calling for peace and a cease-fire.

In early March, the women's committee of the High Peace Council, an Afghan body leading the country's peace efforts, submitted the petition to UNAMA for onward transmission to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who received it on March 21. The secretary-general welcomed the peace campaign as another indication of the strong demands of the Afghan people for peace in their country.

Kubis urged the leaders of Afghanistan and the leaders of the anti-government elements to listen to the message in this petition from Afghan women and girls, adding that the United Nations stands ready to support them in these efforts.

Source: Agencies