KABUL, Aug. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- The UN sponsored Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB), which is responsible to hold Afghan parliamentary polls on September 18, is facing financial problems to run its affairs smoothly, spokesman of UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said Monday.

    "UN faces 31 million US dollars shortfall in funding upcoming elections. If the funds do not come very shortly, it would hamper the process and the consequences could lead to a postponement of the election," Adrian Edwards warned.

    To hold the first post-Taliban parliamentary polls on time as schedule, the war-ravaged Afghanistan needs 149 million US dollars.

    "We urge donor governments to reaffirm their commitments to theSeptember elections and address this problem as rapidly as possible," the spokesman noted.

    The United States, European Union and Canada are leading nations in supporting UN to hold Afghan legislative elections.

    Over 10 million Afghans eligible to vote are going to elect their representatives for a 249-seat parliament amid tight security in some 26,000 poling stations across the country on the election day. Enditem