By Franz J. Marty
KABUL, Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan – On Oct 20, Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan held its long overdue parliamentary elections. Delayed since 2015, the polls were alone the tertiary since the ousting of the extremist Islamist Taliban regime inwards the wake of the 9/11 attacks inwards 2001. While voter turnout inwards Kabul in addition to other cities was reportedly high, the election was spoiled yesteryear technical in addition to organizational problems at some of the 4,900 polling stations across the country. Contrary to large populations centers, where safety was – for Afghan standards – relatively good, insurgent attacks severely hampered, if non prevented, voting inwards some to a greater extent than remote areas. These disruptions opened upward the door fifty-fifty farther for – justified or non – criticism of the results (preliminary results are scheduled to live announced on Nov 10). The Diplomat visited 2 polling centers inwards Kabul’s Shahr-i Naw, a neighborhood inwards the take in of the Afghan majuscule alone a few minutes’ walk away from heavily guarded ministries in addition to embassies. Both opened every bit scheduled on the morn of Oct 20. Voters arrived lonely or inwards modest groups in addition to entered the stations, which were – similar many approximately the Earth – located inwards mosques guarded yesteryear a number of police describe officers. Across Afghanistan, reportedly 70,000 regime forces were deployed to ensure the safety of the elections.
The increased police describe presence close polling stations inwards Kabul was noticeable. Photo yesteryear Franz J. Marty.
After casting their ballots, several voters told The Diplomat that they had works life a practiced candidate to vote for. Across Afghanistan, well-nigh 2,500 candidates vied for the 250 seats of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower theatre of Afghanistan’s bicameral National Assembly. Voters also said that they were hopeful that their ballot would brand a difference. People that had already voted were easily recognizable yesteryear a regal fingertip – colored yesteryear an ink that is i of several mechanisms meant to forbid double voting.
“The elections are beneficial, because that’s the way to gear upward our homeland,” Hussain, a neatly dressed elder, said after casting his vote. Nureddin, a fellow who works inwards a nearby motorbike shop explained: “To vote is non alone one’s right, but also one’s obligation.”
“It is practiced that the election is taking place, but the procedure is non organized well,” Mohammad Naim Haqmal, a candidate that also only had voted, stated, foreshadowing what happened at other polling centers during the day.
Unorganized in addition to Closed Polling Stations
“In the morning, I went to the polling take in [in Kabul] where I receive got registered. But they said that they don’t receive got the electoral materials ready,” Nawab Mumand, a local journalist said. “I waited for well-nigh 2 hours, but nil happened, in addition to then I left.” Similar things reportedly occurred inwards several polling centers across the country, with Afghan TV stations showing footage of crowds waiting inwards front end of shut polling centers.
Some of the centers opened later, others – such every bit the i Mumand had gone to – non at all.
By approximately noon, Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission, which is responsible for organizing the election, announced that voting inwards centers that opened belatedly would transcend away along until 8 p.m. local time, instead of the planned closing at 4 p.m. Centers that did non opened upward until 1 p.m. (according to the Independent Election Commission, 401 centers ) were ordered to reopen the adjacent 24-hour interval (October 21).
In centers that were operating, some people complained that their names were non on the voter listing – despite claiming to receive got registered in addition to showing a registration confirmation sticker attached to their tazkera (a national ID document, consisting of a unmarried canvass of paper) every bit apparent proof.
In some polling stations the devices to register voters biometrically, meant to forbid double voting, reportedly did non purpose properly. In others, the machines allegedly worked, but the election staff had problem treatment them. The machines, which register fingerprints in addition to portrait photos, were introduced at the lastly infinitesimal to assuage the political opposition. That meant at that spot had been real lilliputian fourth dimension to develop staff on the devices — or to testify them, for that matter.
The novel biometric equipment included fingerprint scanning to spot voters. Photo yesteryear Franz J. Marty.
Afghanistan’s Electoral Complaints Commission stated inwards a press conference inwards the afternoon of Oct xx that these issues “seriously telephone telephone into enquiry the transparency in addition to fairness of the elections.”
On Oct 21, voting resumed at some polling centers that were shut on election 24-hour interval — others were unable to opened upward due to insecurity, though it hasn’t been definitively determined how many. As of 4 p.m. local time, at that spot were no reports of major incidents. While some of the aforementioned technical in addition to organizational troubles persisted into the 2nd day, including inwards the take in inwards Kabul, Mumand finally was able to shape his vote.
Alleged High Voter Turnout Despite Insecurity
In a stark contrast to such problems, officials in addition to independent election observers alike praised the allegedly high voter turnout. According to initial figures of the Independent Election Commission, to a greater extent than than 3 1000000 out of approximately 8.8 1000000 registered voters had shape their ballots on Oct 20. It is unclear whether this number reflected prolonged voting inwards some polling centers on election day. The lastly turnout number is surely saltation to change, every bit the earlier mentioned figure does non yet include the delayed voting on Oct 21. In this context, it should live kept inwards hear that the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan Analysts Network warned earlier the elections that the voter lists themselves rest questionable, with several provinces allegedly showing implausibly high numbers. Nonetheless, footage of crowds of Afghans eagerly waiting to vote raised promise for Afghanistan’s immature democracy.
That crowds would plough out to vote was anything but self-evident. “I don’t vote, every bit it is useless”; “The electrical flow members of parliament every bit good every bit the novel candidates are all thieves”; “There is non i unmarried practiced candidate alongside all of them” — these are alone a few statements that The Diplomat heard from Afghans inwards the days preceding the election. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 large share of the estimated xv 1000000 eligible voters did non fifty-fifty bother to register. In a Earth where corruption alongside officials in addition to politicians is reportedly rampant this does non come upward every bit a surprise. Furthermore, it doesn’t assist that the Single-Non-Transferable Voting scheme agency that the elected candidates unremarkably alone correspond a modest fraction of all votes, with the residual of ballots having no directly affect (this is peculiarly the illustration inwards a populous in addition to prominent province similar Kabul, where over 800 candidates contested 33 seats).
Then at that spot are, of course, the safety threats. In the days earlier the elections, the Taliban asked Afghans to abstain from voting, every bit they termed the election a plot of American “invaders” and, therefore, resistance to it an alleged religious duty. The Taliban also implicitly threatened eligible voters, with i communiqué bespeak people to rest indoors on election 24-hour interval every bit the Taliban – who vowed to larn out no stone unturned to forbid the election – claimed to “not desire to terms whatever mutual Afghan.” In a Earth with frequent insurgent attacks that kill tape high numbers of civilians, in addition to where inwards the months prior to the elections 10 candidates were killed, such threats are non to live taken lightly.
“If yous vote, yous withdraw a opportunity existence blown upward yesteryear a suicide assailant inwards a polling station,” i Kabuli explained.
In an illustration of the tense safety situation, the election inwards the province of Kandahar was postponed at the lastly minute, after the Taliban claimed an onslaught conducted on Oct 18, inwards which an Afghan guard opened burn on provincial officials inwards the highly secured chemical compound of the governor of Kandahar. The incident killed Kandahar’s police describe chief, General Abdul Raziq, who is infamous good beyond his province, every bit good every bit the provincial primary of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s clandestine police; the governor, 2 other high ranking Afghan officers, in addition to 3 members of the international armed services coalition were reportedly wounded. USA Army General Austin S. Miller, the commander of USA Forces-Afghanistan in addition to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission, was also on scene, but remained unharmed.
Before the incident inwards Kandahar, the election inwards the province of Ghazni, whose majuscule the Taliban had assaulted inwards mid-August, was postponed, although this was non alone due to security, but also politics. Furthermore, the election was cancelled inwards several districts in addition to polling stations of diverse provinces across the Earth due to the high levels of insecurity. Hence, the roughly 4,900 operating polling centers represented alone well-nigh two-thirds of the reported total of 7,336 polling stations that would live necessary to embrace the whole country.
In sentiment of the above, election 24-hour interval passed – yesteryear Afghan standards in addition to at to the lowest degree inwards population centers – comparatively quietly. Wais Ahmad Barmak, Afghanistan’s government minister of interior affairs, was quoted every bit maxim that insurgents had conducted 192 attacks across the country; this could non live independently verified, but would live less than expected. The alone major incident was an explosion close a polling take in inwards an outer neighborhood of Kabul that was reportedly caused yesteryear a suicide bomber in addition to killed at to the lowest degree xv people in addition to wounded xx more. There were also other nestling explosions inwards Kabul on election day. The Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan Analysts Network indicated that mortar in addition to rockets hitting the outskirts of Kunduz, the majuscule of the northern province with the same name, on the morn of election day; at to the lowest degree 3 people were killed in addition to 39 wounded.
Adding all the incidents together, nonetheless, leads to a tragic number of casualties alongside civilians in addition to safety forces.
Remote Baharak district inwards Badakhshan, belatedly August 2018. Photo yesteryear Franz J. Marty.
What Happened inwards the Hinterlands?
To assess the safety province of affairs in addition to voter turnout during election 24-hour interval inwards to a greater extent than remote areas is to a greater extent than difficult.
The Taliban claimed to receive got conducted an array of attacks across Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan on Oct xx (a summary statement indicated 407 alleged attacks), blocking roads in addition to allegedly preventing the elections inwards countless districts, if non nearly whole provinces. While such Taliban propaganda is unremarkably vastly exaggerated in addition to sometimes fifty-fifty made up, some of the incidents – every bit good every bit the fact that they severely hampered the elections – receive got been confirmed.
For example, the Taliban claimed to receive got blocked all roads in addition to at to the lowest degree 2 polling stations inwards the remote district of Roghiston inwards the mountainous northeastern province of Badakhshan.
Mudir Haiot, the NDS primary for Roghiston in addition to leader of a local armed anti-Taliban uprising, confirmed to The Diplomat yesteryear telephone that the Taliban, who receive got long controlled parts of Roghiston, launched attacks inwards the district at approximately vii a.m. on election 24-hour interval – just when the polling stations were (at to the lowest degree inwards theory) supposed to open. Haiot stated that polling centers inwards Roghiston were notwithstanding open, but that most residents were unable to larn to the stations due to the fighting. Hence, although the skirmishes evidently alone caused 2 fatalities in addition to i wounded alongside (pro-)government forces in addition to reportedly similar casualties on the insurgency side, this severely impeded the election inwards Roghiston. The events inwards Roghiston were corroborated yesteryear a 2nd source.
In some other example, a commander of the Afghan Local Police from the district of Imam Soheb inwards the province of Kunduz told The Diplomat that Taliban attacks the nighttime earlier in addition to inwards the early on morn hours of election 24-hour interval led to the closure of at to the lowest degree 4 polling stations close the district center. The shut polling stations were unable to opened upward the adjacent day, every bit fighting had resumed, the commander said — some other root corroborated the commander’s account.
The Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan Analysts Network noted similar incidents from districts inwards the provinces of Maidan Wardak, Logar, Paktia, in addition to Takhar. Afghan word agency Pajhwok reported election-related safety incidents from across the country, although their affect on the election was non straight off clear.
However, non all such Taliban efforts yielded results. An insurgent laid on from the Taliban-held district of Warduj to the government-controlled district of Baharak, both inwards Badakhshan, was – according to 3 local sources that The Diplomat spoke to – swiftly repelled. The sources disagreed on the voter turnout inwards Baharak, with i alleging that many people voted in addition to some other maxim that turnout had been low. In Warduj, which the Taliban has fully controlled since Oct 2015, at that spot was no election.
While constituencies inwards such remote areas are few inwards numbers in addition to powerfulness thus non live that significant, the province of affairs raises questions well-nigh the representativeness of the parliamentary elections.
This inconsistency of election sense — betwixt major population centers in addition to to a greater extent than rural districts — every bit good every bit the aforementioned technical in addition to organizational problems opened upward the door for fraud allegations that could undermine whatever election result.
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