KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- The people of Afghanistan should be able to take part in an open political system without the fear of violence, U.N. special envoy Jan Kubis said.
The United Nations said two members of an Afghan election committee were killed by "unidentified gunmen" during the weekend in Herat, Afghanistan's third-largest city. U.N. special envoy Kubis said in a statement violent attempts to disrupt the country's political processes can't be tolerated.
"The people of Afghanistan should be able to exercise their fundamental right to express their democratic will and to vote in an atmosphere free of intimidation and violence," he said in a statement Sunday.
Campaigning began during the weekend for provincial and presidential elections scheduled for April. There are 11 candidates cleared to run for president and thousands of others registered for the provincial contests.
Incumbent Afghan President Hamid Karzai is ineligible to compete for a third stint because of term limits.
There was no statement on the Herat attack from the Independent Election Commission in Afghanistan. It said a meeting was held Saturday in Kabul with presidential candidates, their deputies and election officials.
"The purpose of the meeting was to discuss maintaining security for polling centers and candidates, maintaining the security on Election Day and measures to prevent local governments' interference in the electoral process," an IEC statement said.
