Election in Afghanistan

8/14/2019 Election in Afghanistan

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ELECTION IN AFGHANISTAN;HOPE FOR WORLD

OM PRAKASH YADAV

The war ravaged and terror infested country

Afghanistan will go to polls on 20th August, 2009 to

elect its President and members of Provincial

Assemblies. According to Constitution of Afghanistan

which was enacted and adopted on 4th January, 2004,

only an afghan, born out of an afghan parent canparticipate and become President of this country.

The future of this country and prestige of NATO,

especially the USA and the UK is involved in this

election, which is going to be a major challenge for

them in view of threats of disruption and violence given

by Taliban.

The poll will be held on 20th August, 2009 between 7:00

hrs to 16:00 hrs of the local time and results would be

declared on 17th September, 2009 if the winning

candidate secures at least 50% of the votes polled

which is mandatory as per Article 61 of the

Constitution.

There are 17 million out of an estimated 30 millionAfghans registered to vote in 7000 polling stations

spread across the country in all 34 provinces.

41 candidates are fighting for the presidency, whereas

as many as 3000 candidates are in fray for 420 seats in

34 provinces.

1. Security situation and elections- the securitysituation in the war ravaged country is far from


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satisfactory. NATO headquarter was stormed on the

eve of elections leaving some soldiers and civilian

dead. Presidential Palace has also been hit by

rockets. Out of 34 provinces, Karzais governmenthas control over only a very few. Some

independent sources suggest that the writs of the

govt do not run outside the Kabul. Provinces like

Kandahar, Nimruz, Daykundi, Herat, Nurestan, Gor,

Ghazni Orunzgan Panjshir etc are virtually not

under the control of the government and the writs

of Taliban is the final decree. The Taliban hasissued warnings on loudspeakers openly in public

places and mosques that any body found with

indelible ink on his/her thumb, their hands would

be chopped off. Such warnings cannot be ignored

in Afghanistan and nobody will like his hands

chopped off. This does not mean however that

nobody will come out and cast vote, after all howcould so many candidates including some women

dared to file nominations despite Talibans

opposition.

2. Prospects of peaceful, free and fair election-

Article 156 of Constitution of Afghanistan provides

for establishment of an Independent Election

Commission to conduct election. In pursuance of it,Election Commission has also been constituted, but

to what extent a free, fair and peaceful election it

would be able to conduct, is yet to be seen.

Azizollah Ludin, the head of Election Commission,

has complained about calibre of some candidates.

He has alleged that his recommendations with

respect to change in certain election rules have not


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been enacted by Parliament and the government

has not taken note of it. The main contesting

candidates in the presidential fray are the sitting

President Hamid Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah, andformer finance minister Asraf Ghani. There are

about 350 women candidates in the fray for

Provincial council polls. Women candidates are also

in the fray for presidential seat. Frozen Fana and

Shahla Atta are most important among them.

As far as peaceful elections are concerned, the

chances are bleak. The rocket attack on

Presidential palace and suicidal attacks on defence

and police establishments, well in the heart of

Kabul, the fortified city, suggest that all is not well

in this country. In the mean time some rights

groups like Human Rights watch (HRW) have

expressed apprehension on elections in

Afghanistan. The return of ex -war lord Abdul

Rashid Dostum just on the eve of elections have

raised eyebrows of many who believe that Karzai

might use his clout in his favour.

In the meantime reports are coming in that large

numbers of voters ID cards are being sold for

money and therefore rigging and bogus voting maytake place. This matter has been brought to the

notice of the Election commission and the officials

connected to it has assured of taking some

remedial measures for this also. It remains to be

seen that in what manner elections are conducted

in remote rural areas of the country where

communication and other administrativeinfrastructure are far from satisfaction.


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3. Observers and Media- as many as 67 observers

from 25 different countries are expected to be

present in different parts of Afghanistan to oversee

election. International media, despite allhazardous, has made its huge presence felt. This

election is under watch and USA and UK will leave

no stone unturned to see that it is held in a

peaceful manner at least. In the meantime there is

a huge conglomeration of media to cover this

event which has been talk not of the town but of

the world today.4. Significance for India- Although India is formally

not included in US much talked but little done

war against terror, it has been playing major role in

Afghanistan. Afghanistan for US and other NATO

courtiers may be a laboratory; India has not used

or using this country in this way. Indias billion

rupees have been so far spent on infrastructureprojects like road construction, hospital building,

school building etc. Except Taliban, most of the

Afghani people have great faith and respect for

Indians. Hamid Karzais ties with India is deep

rooted and so is the cultural and historical relations

of common Afghanis; therefore peace and

normalcy blended with democratic taste is a wellcome step in this country of rich cultural heritage

and old civilizational importance. The success of

this election and subsequent formation of a

popular government at Kabul would usher in a new

era of hope, peace and prosperity, for which

common Afghanis are thirsty of. The restoration of

normalcy and return of NATO led foreign troops,


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the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF),

from Afghanistan will improve the situation in the

region.

If a heavy turnout is made in this election, itwill be the victory of Afghanis and hopefully

Taliban will also understand the futility of this

endless war. It is however a utopian and

hypothetical situation but if you dont see dreams

and that too big dreams, how you can achieve it.

Formation of a popular government in Afghanistan

is of immense strategic and diplomatic importance.If in Afghanistan a popular government takes oath,

it will not allow its territory to be used by terrorist

in the manner they are using today.

5. Terrorism in India and Afghanistan-

Afghanistan today is known for two things in the

world. Firstly it has turned into a heaven for

terrorist around the world and secondly wholesalesupplier of opium. Terrorist organisations like

Laskar-e-Toiba, JeM, Jammat, etc receives parental

care from Al-Qaeda and Taliban. Osamas hatred

for India is well known. The supply of arms,

ammunition and training to terrorists in the camps

operating from Pakistan is too obvious to be

discussed. The nexus of ISI and Terrorism inPakistan has become chronic for India. We can hit

this nexus with the help of a popular

democratically elected govt at Kabul and that is

why this election is of utmost importance for India.

The Pakistans nefarious design can then be

thwarted with active support of Afghanistan.


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The Al-Qaida and Taliban under Osama and

Mullah Muhammad Omar respectively have

become source of strength and inspiration of

almost all terrorist organisations across the world. This umbilical cord needs to be cut so that

terrorism can be prevented from expansion and

infection in remaining part of globe.

In this backdrop the successful completion of this

election as well as victory of common peoples

aspiration over fundamentalists and terrorists is a

precondition so that a better world is created tolive in peace and harmony.

Documents

Election in Afghanistan