Members of the Afghan Social Outreach Program met with and advised the leadership of the Khas Uruzgan district on how to facilitate local governance Oct. 26 – 28, culminating with the election of representatives for the district’s community council.
The ASOP representatives spent the first two days of the three-day visit meeting with the district governor, the Afghan National Police commander and village leaders explaining the program, validating the district’s village and tribal demographics and coordinating arrangements for the local community council election to be held on the third day.
The election on the last day drew 305 tribal elders and religious leaders from across the district, from which 42 council members, who will be provided a $125 stipend, were officially elected.
The newly-elected council then voted on a chairman, deputy chairman and several other key committee chairmanships.
Officials from ASOP will conduct four training sessions with the council members as well as hire a program coordinator from the local community who will act as the liaison between the program and the council.
The council will oversee a budget, provided by the office of the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG), which will be used to support community related projects.
ASOP supports the IDLG by developing district-level community councils in the absence of formally elected district councils. The councils are a platform to communicate views about local needs such as security, development and community concerns.