Afghans to begin vote count today
Final results won’t be known for weeks But Sunday’s election hailed by world leaders
KABUL— Donkeys, camels and trucks carried sealed ballot boxes to counting centres yesterday, where the results of landmark elections will be determined. World leaders hailed Sunday’s vote, saying Afghans had braved Taliban violence in a show of determination to build a peaceful future, although significantly fewer people turned out for the legislative elections than for last year’s presidential poll.
“ Canada applauds the citizens of Afghanistan, men and women alike, who courageously voted yesterday in an emphatic demonstration of commitment to their country’s future,” Prime Minister Paul Martin said yesterday in a statement from Ottawa. Turnout was estimated at just over 50 per cent by the election commission, compared with 67 per cent last year. The elections for a national assembly and provincial councils went ahead despite threats by Taliban guerrillas to disrupt the vote. Although at least 14 people were killed, voting was overwhelmingly peaceful and went ahead in all districts.
“ When you think four years ago Taliban were here, women were being stoned to death at halftime at football games; now you have women running polling centres and women voting and men voting and, I think, each one voting for some of the others as well,” U. S. ambassador Ronald Neumann told a news conference. The head of a European Union election observer mission, Emma Bonino, said the U. N.- organized polls were generally well administered and peaceful and marked “ a significant step forward for Afghanistan’s democratic development.” However, she pointed to shortcomings, including numerous reports of intimidation and the killing of several candidates and election workers. Bonino said the electoral system itself should be reconsidered. Neumann said Afghanistan needed now to concentrate on building up institutions like the judicial system and the police. He stressed the elections did not signal the end of U. S. or international help for Afghanistan and the international community was now drawing up a new plan for assistance. A conference is expected in London in January to chart the next five years of help for Afghanistan, U. N. officials say. Neumann said foreign troops would remain as long as needed to maintain security. He said the deployment of Pakistani troops on its side of the border had contributed to the success of the election. Pakistan, frequently accused by Afghan and U. S. officials of failing to stop militants crossing into Afghanistan to launch attacks, said it had deployed a record number of troops to improve security for the elections. It welcomed the polls as a big step forward towards peace and stability.
Vote counting starts today and will take 16 days to tally 150,000 ballot boxes. The Taliban had called on voters to boycott the polls but failed to derail preparations in spite of months of violence in which more than 1,000 people were killed.
While Afghanistan’s allies hailed the vote, the new parliament is expected to be fragmented with members expected to focus on local rather than national agendas. However, it could prove more of a help than a hindrance to President Hamid Karzai. The lower number of voters compared with Karzai’s election last year will be a disappointment for some — on the eve of the vote, the U. S. military commander in Afghanistan, LieutenantGeneral Karl Eikenberry, predicted a record turnout. Canada has about 700 troops in Kabul as part of a NATO security force, and another 250 Canadians are in Kandahar as a provincial reconstruction team.