Afghans show they can hold their own ground
Regardless of which candidate wins the Afghan presidential election held this past Saturday, the people of Afghanistan have already secured a tremendous victory. The April 5 election, one of the most important milestones in the country's drawn-out transition process, was by all accounts and assessments a resounding success. Despite the all-pervasive threat of violence and inclement weather conditions, voter turnout was at an impressive 58 per cent — comparable to the percentage from the 2012 US presidential election. Many urban polling stations saw long queues of both men and women; in some cases, polling booths ran out of ballot papers and additional supplies had to be brought in mid-day, and in other places voting hours were extended to ensure that everyone got a chance. Effectively, two factors could have spoiled the party — terror attacks and large-scale electoral fraud. Neither erupted in a manner that could de-legitimise the entire process. Yes, there were some remote polling stations that could not be opened because of security concerns and there were also instances of vote rigging, but all within expected margins.
In the first case, there were no major militant attacks in any large Afghan city and no election-related deaths. This is a significant achievement for the Afghan National Security Forces whose ability to hold down the fort after foreign troops leave the country has often been questioned. Hence, the April 5 election was an important test. The 2009 poll was held under the watchful eyes of thousands of Western soldiers, but this time the Afghans were on their own. Most Nato combat troops have already left and those that remain are generally confined to their military bases. Poll security across the country, therefore, was provided by an estimated 35,000 Afghan troops and police officers who have done a commendable job. This is a significant boost in morale for the average Afghan and instills popular confidence not just in the security forces but in the state machinery too. With regard to the second point of preventing electoral fraud, Afghanistan seems to have done remarkably better than in 2009 when allegations of stuffed ballots and booth-capturing leading to candidate Abdullah Abdullah's withdrawal from the run-off, damaged incumbent Hamid Karzai's mandate. This time none of the top candidates has levelled charges of fraud and the Independent Election Commission has received only 1,500 official complaints (7.5 million voted). Additionally, there has been little talk about external agencies influencing the election. This is a big plus compared to 2009 when many believed that there was significant Western influence on the polling process.