Afghans ready to vote despite Taliban threats and corruption

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghans will return to the polls for Saturday's parliamentary elections, hoping to make changes to a corrupt government that has lost nearly half of the country to the Taliban.

In the last eight years since the last parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, Taliban rebels have been launching near-daily attacks on security forces, capturing large swathes of the countryside and threatening the cities. An even more radical member of the Islamic State has launched a wave of bombings targeting the country's Shia minority, killing hundreds. Both groups threatened to attack anyone taking part in the vote.

In areas where the government still provides relative security, Afghans face a range of different challenges. Generalized corruption forces people to pay bribes for lousy public services, and increasingly influential ultraconservative monks attribute the many ills of the country to years of western influence, threatening to stave off corruption. Cancel the limited gains made by women and civil society since the 2001 invasion by the United States.

Many of those Afghans who have the courage to challenge death threats hope to vote for a new generation of younger, better-trained leaders. But they fear that former warlords and the corrupt political elite will cling to power by producing entertainment and distributing money to impoverished voters.

"I still do not think it will be fair," said Saeed Matin, a fruit salesman in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in Kabul, who had to face the cold autumn evening. He dismissed Taliban threats and said he hoped for new leadership, by showing campaign posters showing younger candidates.

"They are young and educated and I would like to be able to do something, but I'm 100% afraid that warlords and corrupt people will not give them a chance," he said. "These corrupt people pay 3,000 Afghans (about $ 50) for each vote. They are not interested in the country, only by what they can put in their pocket. "

Afghanistan is ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International, which last year called the efforts of President Ashraf Ghani's government to curb galloping corruption. Poor governance has also hindered Washington's efforts to find a peaceful end to the past 17 years. the war – the longest in American history – cost more than 2,400 lives and more than $ 900 billion in the United States.

The Taliban point to the government's dysfunction as evidence of its illegitimacy and have rejected international demands to hold peace talks with the Kabul authorities, whom they regard as Western puppets. They say that they will only negotiate directly with the United States, which they regard as an occupying power.

Religious conservatives, even those who have not taken up arms, are increasingly echoing Taliban rhetoric, claiming that years of Western influence have eroded the country's values ​​- a mix of Islamic education and tribal traditions – causing a collapse of society.

Abdul Wadood Pedram, who heads the organization for human rights and the eradication of violence, said religious clerics use their weekly sermons in the capital's mosques for safety and security. to oppose Western influence.

"Our society is becoming more and more radical, day after day, because the government has no control over mosques and madrassas (religious schools)," he said. He said that clerics routinely opposed women's participation in the labor force – a bright spot in Afghanistan's recent history – as well as independent media and human rights activists. man.

Despite generalized pessimism, analysts and activists say the elections – which have been delayed for three years due to insecurity – have an important message to convey to the Taliban that the political system, despite the fact that they are in power. unpopularity of the current government, is here to stay.

"It is very important to tell the Taliban that the government is working, that the Afghan institutions are working and that it is the political process. . . also works, "said Haroun Mir, an analyst based in Kabul. "The insurgents and the Taliban will be clearly informed that they face the political process accepted by the majority of the Afghan people."

Wasima Badghisy works in the offices of the Independent Electoral Commission, strongly fortified, in the final preparations for the vote.

"Young people are voting for the first time and many are worried about corruption, but they still feel it's important to participate," she said. "They think it will take time, but gradually, every election, it will be better. For many, this election is like a practice for their future.

Their energy inspires me to try to improve it. "

The most urgent concern is security. Earlier this week, the Taliban warned students and teachers not to vote and not allow their schools to be used as polling stations. Militant attacks killed seven candidates before and after the start of the 20-day campaign.

Two candidates were kidnapped, their fate is unknown and three others were wounded by the violence.

On Thursday, at least two senior provincial officials from the southern province of Kandahar were killed by one of their guards at a meeting to discuss security before the vote. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying their target was US General Scott Miller, commander of US troops and NATO in Afghanistan, unscathed.

Security fears forced the commission to close about 2,000 polling stations. He canceled the vote in 11 of the 400 or so districts of the country, as well as throughout eastern Ghazni Province, where the Taliban controlled the countryside and besieged the provincial capital for five days in July. More than 50,000 security forces will be deployed to defend the polling stations.

According to Badghisy, with 8.8 million registered voters, voter turnout will reflect Afghan confidence in the system.

"If 5 million voters show up, it will be fine," she said. "Those who vote, I think they are very, very brave." / Muf

Read more