Elections in Afghanistan Mostly a Success

Turnout was high in Afghanistan's election, About 7 million Afghans voted in this Presidential election that will replace Hamid Karzai, despite violence prior to, and threatening the elections.

According to Voice of America, more than 3,000 voters complained to the election authorities about fraud and abuse."This figure compares to more than 2,000 complaints investigated during the 2009 elections, which were tarnished by fraud that led to more than a million votes being scrapped. Complaints against election commission staff made up 772 of  the 1,573 complaints backed by documents, with another 573 aimed at provincial council candidates, while presidential hopefuls faced 228 complaints.  Afghanistan held provincial council elections the same day."

Though there was some violence: "at least 16 security personnel and four civilians were killed over the past 24 hours, officials said. Eighty-nine Taliban militants were also killed, and 179 other fighters arrested," according to NBC news. "...there were close to 150 [security incidents] this year," compared to 625 in 2009, "including mortar attacks, small arms fire and bombings near polling sites. About 1,000 polling sites of the more than 7,100 remained closed because of security concerns as well as harsh weather in remote regions."

Nonetheless, the Afghan elections are considered a success. "World leaders have praised the April 5 vote as a success, because of the strong turnout of voters, estimated at 60 percent of the 12 million eligible, and the failure of the Taliban to stage high-profile attacks on the day."

"Expectations are growing that Abdullah Abdullah will face a runoff with Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank official with a program of radical economic reform."

A columnist for Al Jazeera states: "More than 7 million Afghans voters, at least 35 percent of whom were female, sent a strong and clear message in support of democracy to the world, including to election spoilers, stressing that nothing can stop them from exercising their constitutional right to elect a new leader and, more importantly, that they rejected the Taliban narrative. Earlier this year, the Taliban issued statements denouncing elections and threatened to punish anyone associated with the process." 

From the NY Post: "Finally, the picture emerging from the election indicates much stronger support for close ties with the United States than one might think when listening to the buzz from Washington. The likely two top vote-getters, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, both support a treaty under which the United States would maintain a military presence of 10,000 to 12,000 troops in Afghanistan — a clear sign of consensus." 

"In Iraq, by choosing a cynical cut-and-run strategy, President Obama squandered much of the power and prestige that the United States had won by overthrowing Saddam Hussein. The question now is if he will make the same mistake in Afghanistan...That would be bad for the Afghans and for America. Premature US disengagement could turn Afghanistan into a battleground for regional rivals, among them such opportunist powers as Iran, Russia and Pakistan. That, in turn, would deny Afghanistan the time needed to strengthen its new institutions, gain experience by practicing democracy and emerge as an element of stability in one of the most dangerous parts of the world."

According to the WSJ: "Former World Bank executive Ashraf Ghani and opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah appeared to be the two front-runners in Afghanistan's presidential election, sidelining a candidate viewed as President Hamid Karzai's favorite, according to partial results tallied by news organizations and one candidate. A victory for Mr. Abdullah or Mr. Ghani could significantly reduce the influence of Mr. Karzai, who has ruled Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S. invasion. Both candidates say they will sign the bilateral security agreement, which is needed to maintain American aid and a limited U.S. military presence in Afghanistan once the international coalition's current mandate expires in December. Mr. Karzai has infuriated Washington by refusing to complete the deal."

"The Wall Street Journal tallied partial election results from visits to roughly 100 polling stations, out of more than 20,000 nationwide...At nearly all these stations, Messrs. Ghani and Abdullah were the clear leaders, according to counts posted by local poll supervisors. Mr. Karzai's former foreign minister, Zalmai Rassoul, trailed far behind...Diplomats, campaign insiders and election observers predicted a runoff [election] sometime in late May or early June."

"Former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, who was Karzai's main rival in a 2009 election marred by widespread cheating, had promised his followers a knock-out victory if the government contained fraud...The main loser appears to be another former foreign minister, Zalmai Rassoul, a softly spoken moderate who was believed to be Karzai's preferred successor...The official result is not due for over two weeks. " ~ The Guardian.