KABUL: Afghansbraved the threat of militant attacks and delays at polling booths to vote in apresidential election yesterday, a major test of the Western-backedgovernment's ability to protect democracy against Taleban attempts to derailit. The election was marred by numerous small-scale Taleban attacks, but onlyone confirmed death. Turnout was low, however, with the violence - plus earlierTaleban threats against polling stations - likely contributing factors. Votingwas extended by two hours, as the start of polling was delayed around thecountry with stations failing to open on time amid technical problems.
Independentelection observers and activists said a slow pace to voting triggered confusionat some polling stations, with long queues forming outside. "It took thefirst voter 31 minutes to vote. For subsequent voters it was taking around fiveminutes and then it started to streamline to 3 minutes and 30 seconds,"said Nishank Motwani, an observer stationed in Kabul. "Election commissionstaff looked panicked and voters were getting angry that the queue was notmoving."
Talebanintervention?
Some observersfeared the Taleban had forced a partial shutdown to upset the final results asthe Independent Election Commission's (IEC), without giving a reason, said ithad failed to establish contact with 901 of the 4,942 polling centers. Thehardline Islamist group, which controls more of the country than at any timesince its regime fell in 2001, has warned the more than 9 million registeredvoters to stay at home or face dire consequences.
Yesterday'spresidential vote is the fourth since the Taleban were toppled. A dozencandidates are vying for the presidency, led by incumbent Ashraf Ghani and hisformer deputy Abdullah Abdullah. Due to logistical difficulties, results willnot be known until Nov 7. The winner will play a crucial role in the country'squest to end the war with the Taleban and any resumption of talks between themand the United States that were called off this month. To protect voters andpolling stations, tens of thousands of troops were deployed.
Abdul MoqimAbdulrahimzai, director-general of operations and planning at the InteriorMinistry, said at least 21 civilians and two Afghan forces were injured inabout a dozen small-scale attacks during the first hours of voting. Otherattacks had been foiled, he said. A senior Western security official in Kabulsaid the Taleban had not conducted large-scale attacks but had scared somevoters away. Early turnout was "very poor", said the TransparentElection Foundation of Afghanistan, also citing as a reason the requirement forvoters to be photographed, to which female voters in conservative areasobjected.
Others were determinedto vote. "Bravado gets defined when one musters courage to cast onesvote," said Kabul doctor Roya Jahangir (after casting his ballot?)."We hope this time there is no fraud." Hundreds of voters complainedtheir names were missing from voters' lists or the biometric devices used toprevent fraud. Addressing those concerns, the IEC eased restrictions, allowinganyone with election stickers on their national identity cards to vote.
Polling stationsattacked
Small-scaleTaleban attacks took place across the country. An explosion at a pollingstation in a mosque in the southern city of Kandahar wounded 16 people,according to a security source. In the northern province of Faryab, Afghanforces clashed with Taleban fighters in six districts, forcing people to stayindoors and refrain from voting. The Taleban said their fighters attackedpolling stations in Laghman province, in eastern Afghanistan. Officials saidfour explosions in the eastern city of Jalalabad, in which one person waskilled, disrupted voting at some stations.
Blasts also hitKabul and Ghazni, officials said, while more than 400 polling centers remainedclosed because they were in areas under Taleban control. Western diplomats saidthe scale of the Islamist militant group's election attacks would determinewhether talks with Washington resumed. "Talks can only begin if theTaleban exercises restraint and allows people to vote," said one diplomatoverseeing the elections.
Ghani cast hisballot in a Kabul high school, telling reporters: "I thank God that todaythat people's vote will help the republic of Afghanistan to move forward."Abdullah voted at a different Kabul school. "The threats to innocentpeople do not show the strength of the Taleban," he said. Both men came topower in 2014 after a bitterly contested election marred by fraud.Afghanistan's political scene is still tainted by the aftermath of that vote,which forced the two main rival groupings to form an unstable partnership. Bothsides were accused of massive electoral cheating. - Reuters