Voting Victory
"This in itself is a victory over violence and a victory over all those who wanted to deter democracy by threats and violence."
Thijs Berman, head, European Union election assessment team, Kabul
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Security was tight amid fears of Taliban attacks.
"The enemy, after this defeat, will surely intensify its senseless violence and the prospect for peace is still precarious -- but there is hope and that is everything."Officials in Afghanistan are logging complaints about ballot shortages and sporadic fraud. But millions of people ignored the Taliban threat to disrupt the voting process through violent interference and cast their votes regardless. The ballots will be tallied, many arriving from extremely remote and rural areas. There were 20,000 polling stations established nationwide in 34 provinces.
Brig.Gen. Daniel O'Donohue, chief operations officer, NATO
A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed on Sunday that over a thousand attacks had taken place "to disrupt the fake and predetermined elections set up by America". If that number of violent attacks did indeed take place, they have not been reported by the media. The Taliban had forewarned voters they would do best to remain at their homes, and that election workers and polling centres were in their cross-hairs.
There was a report of a roadside bomb hitting a truck in transport of ballot boxes on Sunday in the northern province of Kundiz, where three people were killed. This is as close to mass violence as the Taliban had promised. Authorities have not divulged the occurrence of any other similar events. Word of violence having taken place in more remote areas might yet surface, but the election process appears to have taken place in relative calm, under tight security.
A turnout of over seven million people visited the polling stations representing close to 60% of eligible voters; not quite the 75% that Afghan news media were extolling, but representing a sizeable voting majority, regardless. With a field of eight candidates it isn't likely that a majority figure will present once the votes have been tallied and the results made public on April 24, with final results to be announced May 14.
A runoff between the two highest vote-gatherers could be held at the end of May if no clear successor to President Hamid Karzai can be named from the initial vote.
Labels: Afghanistan, Democracy, Human Rights, Taliban, Violence
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, April 08, 2014
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