Ignoring threats, Afghans vote in final test

Despite outbreaks of violence, long queues of voters snaked out of polling centres.

KABUL/ ISLAMABAD:

Millions of Afghans turned out for a second time on Saturday to elect a successor to President Hamid Karzai, a decisive test of the country’s ambitions to transfer power democratically for the first time in its tumultuous history.

Most foreign troops will leave by the end of 2014, and whoever takes over from Karzai will inherit a troubled country plagued by an assertive Taliban insurgency and an economy crippled by corruption and the weak rule of law.

The run-off pitted former anti-Taliban fighter Abdullah Abdullah against former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani after neither secured the 50 percent majority needed to win outright in the first round on April 5.

Violence spiked on the day as militants launched hundreds of attacks with rockets, explosives and gunfire, leaving at least 20 civilians dead, along with a further 11 police and 15 army personnel, the interior ministry said.



According to reports, at least two people were shot dead by Abdullah Abdullah’s supporters in the eastern city of Jalalabad. The incident reportedly took place after a number of Abdullah’s supporters opened fire on Ashraf Ghani’s followers who were chanting in his support.

That said, clashes did not deter millions of voters from turning out and the high-profile attacks that had been feared did not materialise and voting ended at 4 pm local time with a palpable sense of relief in the Afghan capital.

Officials immediately began counting ballots, although Afghanistan’s difficult terrain – where ballot boxes have to hauled by donkey from some of its remotest corners – means preliminary results will not be known until July 2.

Karzai, standing down after 12 years in power marked by increasingly sour relations with the West, is certain to retain a hand in politics but has been tight-lipped about his plans. “Today Afghanistan takes a step towards stability, development and peace. Come out and determine your destiny,” Karzai said after casting his ballot.

In order to facilitate the election run-off, Pakistan Army beefed up security at the eastern border. “Additional troops have been deployed on the Pak-Afghan border to reinforce existing security arrangements, for peaceful conduct of presidential elections in Afghanistan,” said the army’s media wing, ISPR, in a statement.

Pakistan took a number of measures for peaceful conduct of the polls in Afghanistan, it said, which included increasing in the number of immigrations staff at the border-crossing points to ensure the smooth flow of Afghan voters and enhancing patrolling in areas close to the border.

Communication at the Border Coordination Centres on both sides was also enhanced and a hotline contact was established between the two military operations directorates, the statement added. Twelve million voters were eligible to cast ballots at 6,365 polling centres across Afghanistan. Despite the outbreaks of violence, voters defied threats and long queues snaked out of polling centres in urban areas soon after voting began at 7 am. Turnout was more than seven million, said Independent Election Commission (IEC) chief Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani, roughly the same as in the first round of voting in April.

However, Nuristani admitted receiving reports of fraud and irregularities in parts of the country. All complaints would be investigated, he assured.

On the other hand, the Afghan Taliban said they had carried out hundreds of attacks on what they called on the “fake election process”, killing and injuring dozens of security personnel. “Attacks in almost all the provinces have forced many polling centres to shut down,” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

Afghan intelligence chief Rahmatullah Nabil was quoted as saying that the security forces thwarted 473 serious attack plots ahead of Election Day.  Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Janan Mosaza told The Express Tribune that the election was the biggest achievement for Afghanistan. “We are confident that the elections would the way for stability and more progress in the country. The elections will boost relations with neighbouring countries.”


Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2014.