Some 400,000 security forces will be assigned on election duty but the shadow of fear over the upcoming presidential and provincial polls is only deepening.
Some 400,000 security forces will be assigned on election duty but the shadow of fear over the upcoming presidential and provincial polls is only deepening.The Taleban carried out their threat to sabotage the elections, and on Mar 25 launched a brazen attack on the office of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) in the Darul Aman area of Kabul. Two militants detonated suicide vests while three others engaged security forces in a gun battle that lasted nearly three hours. Two members of the Afghan security forces and two civilians including a candidate for the provincial council died. Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) spokesman Sediq Seddiqi said several injured civilians were taken to hospital.
The IEC has been warning violence is the biggest threat to a transparent, fair and free election.
On Mar 19, IEC head Mohammad Yousuf Nooristani acknowledged at a conference to raise public awareness with civil society partners that there was a genuine fear that some of the polling booths may not open on election day because of security threats. “The reviews carried out by us show … some of the polling centres would not be open … which has increased our concern,” he said. Some 400 polling booths could be affected, according to IEC authorities.
MoI spokesman Seddiqi told the press that 396 polling centres were in highly risky areas, and the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) would reinforce security on election day. Some 13,000 women will be among the security forces who have received special training for election duty.
The Taleban have vowed to disrupt the election. In Faryab “night letters” or notices warning voters to stay away from polling booths was delivered in mosques, said Sufi Abdul Rasool, a resident of the province’s Almar district. Campaign workers and election officials have also been threatened in Faryab.
Abdul Ahad Elbek, a candidate for the provincial council, told Killid voters in five polling centres in Dawlatabad district were at risk. But the district governor Abdul Salam Nezhat claims only three polling centres including Qaisar and Almar are on the high security list.
The Taleban have stepped up attacks ahead of the April 5 election. On Mar 12, gunmen breached security in the barricaded Serena Hotel in Kabul and killed five foreign guests and four Afghans including journalist Sardar Ahmad. Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack, but alleged the journalist was mowed down by security forces.
According to the MoI, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) will take ISAF assistance to tie down the militants until election day. Some 60 operations have been planned, and already underway in Nangarhar, Zabul, Kandahar, Ghor, Kunar, Nuristan, and Ghazni provinces.
Rigging votes
The Taleban are not the only threat to a fair and free election. Voters in Ghor have complained that armed local groups belonging to so-called “powerful people” are intimidating voters to vote for their candidate, and in some cases taken away voter cards.
Gul Aroos told Killid she was forced to part with her voter card. “They say it is not necessary for you to vote, we will select the president on your behalf,” she said. No one was willing to identify people by name.
The general opinion is that elections in the province would only be transparent when the influence of “powerful people” is checked.
Election-related violence was reported from Bamyan. Field coordinator of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) Ghulam Ali Rezaei was beaten up along with a friend by unidentified individuals in Waras district. He had to be hospitalised. The security commandment of Waras district has confirmed the case.
Nematullah Tanin, the commissioner of IEC’s complaints commission in Bamyan, said they have received a report but have not got a formal complaint.
IEC head Nooristani said at the conference on Mar 19 there could be government ministers, governors, district officials and security commanders working to favour certain candidates.
Alleged indifference
There are areas where preparations for elections have been put on hold although there is no security threat.
Nawmish in Helmand province, which has recently been turned into a district, has no local administration. Locals are worried the elections will pass them by because neither have their names been registered on voters’ lists nor have polling centres been announced for the district.
Zafar Sadeqi, an elder told Pajhwok that voters like him are being denied their right to exercise their franchise.
The MoI says material related to elections including polling sheets and ballot boxes are being dispatched to election centres.
Election monitors
Ziaulhaq Amarkhail, head of the IEC secretariat, said measures have been put in place to prevent fraud in the ballot. He underlined the importance of the strategy to ensure coordination between civil society and election monitors so that IEC staff cannot work in favour or against candidates.
Jandad Spinghar, the executive director of FEBA (Free Election Foundation), told Killid it has enlisted 10,000 observers for the upcoming elections. “We have 10,000 observers ready. If security and other facilities are provided they will supervise the election,” he said.
Two foreign election observer and support missions are reported to have pulled out after the Serena attack. But the European Union has said an 11-member delegation would be sent to monitor the election that will decide the successor to President Hamid Karzai.
