Afghanistan News Wire

Afghans turn out for historic vote

October 9, 2004

10 million eligible to choose first elected president

Woman living as refugee casts first vote — in Pakistan

CAROL HARRINGTON SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Published on Oct. 9, 2004. 01:00 AM at The Toronto Star online.

MAIMANA, Afghanistan—Afghans poured into polling stations throughout the country today to take part in one of the most extraordinary elections the world has seen.

Like most things in this war-ravaged, topographically challenged country, it was not easy holding the country’s first direct presidential vote.

In the north, a drought that had persisted for months gave way to a steady downpour of rain yesterday, and snow blanketed the Hindu Kush mountains near the Pakistan border.

Still, hardy Afghans who have endured decades of war trekked on foot and travelled for hours by donkey over snowy mountain passes to participate in the historic polls.

A 19-year-old Afghan woman living as a refugee in Pakistan made history by casting the first vote, Reuters News Agency reported.

Moqadasa Sidiqi, a science student who fled Kabul with her family in 1992, cast her ballot at a polling station at a primary school, not in Afghanistan, but in Islamabad, capital of neighbouring Pakistan.

“I am very happy, I am very happy,” Sidiqi, dressed in a pink and white traditional shalwar kameez and a white headscarf, told reporters after voting. “I can’t explain … my feelings, because I am very excited,” she said with a shy smile.

Polls for around 740,000 Afghan refugees who registered to vote in Pakistan opened half an hour before those inside Afghanistan, which is in a time zone 30 minutes behind that of Pakistan.

The International Organization for Migration, the U.N. affiliate conducting the refugee vote, said it had arranged for Sidiqi to be the first to vote in an effort to encourage Afghan women to take part in the historic polls.

In Afghanistan, snow on the Hindu Kush was on the minds of election officials who faced the monumental task of setting up 25,000 polling stations around a country that largely lacks security, roads and electricity.

“This whole snow thing is concerning me more than bombs and rockets,” said one security official involved in logistics.

Security has been a top concern in the days leading up to the election, as elements of the former Taliban regime vowed to disrupt the vote. The 9,000-strong NATO-led International Security Assistance Force has been on high alert, sending helicopters out for frequent forays over major cities.

Early today, a Western official said a bomb had exploded at a polling station in the Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif. There was no immediate word of casualties.

Security forces thwarted a planned truck bombing last night in the southern city of Kandahar, where a tanker carrying 40,000 litres of fuel and packed with explosives was intercepted.

Security threats have hampered campaigning for the 18 candidates. There were only a handful of rallies and debates held throughout the country, with most taking place in the capital and a few other cities.

In addition to heightened security, human rights groups have warned that voters may be intimidated and coerced by the militias of warlords.

U.S.-backed incumbent President Hamid Karzai is favourite to win the poll, but he could face a November runoff if he falls short of the 51 per cent of the vote needed for outright victory.

Karzai’s top rival is former education minister Yunus Qanuni. Both men promise stable international relations and a moderate Islam, as well as a secure, democratic country.

Karzai’s team is reportedly hoping that at least 60 per cent of eligible voters will turn out.

In Kabul, there were just a handful of voters outside main polling stations this morning. The city was blanketed in a thick haze from a dust-storm which started last night.

“I wanted to make sure I voted before I go to work,” said government employee Hafeez Ameen, wrapped in a shawl to ward off the morning chill, after casting his ballot at a poll station at the Eid Gah Mosque in central Kabul. “I want to tell all my friends that I have voted and tell them to vote, too.”

The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) has rejected the polls, saying that fair, free and impartial elections are impossible because most contestants are notorious war criminals.

The group’s officials named seven contenders they said should be tried in court for crimes against defenceless Afghans. Some 150 complaints of gross criminal violations by candidates were lodged with the U.N.-Afghan election commission, but no action was taken.

Although 10.6 million voting cards were handed out over an eight-month period, the number of eligible voters has been estimated at 9.8 million. And there have been reports of people obtaining multiple cards.

Some people exchanged their cards for cash, and others believed they could be exchanged for food or prescription drugs.

Voter education was criticized in a recent survey by the Afghan Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium. Only 14 per cent of 700 Afghans interviewed in five major cities said they had received any voter education. Only half of respondents could name two presidential candidates.

Election officials at one U.N. office in the north are making bets on the number of spoiled ballots. Their highest estimate so far stands at 20 per cent.

Counting will begin immediately after polls close in Afghanistan, and first trends will be clear by Monday.

But a full count won’t be available until late October, and it’s likely Karzai will not know until then whether he needs to contest a second round.

With files from Reuters

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