Can Afghanistan’s Elections Be Credible?

Today, the Afghan government has called for an international media blackout on reporting violent incidents on the day of the elections.

The Afghan government statement said: “All domestic and international media are requested to refrain from broadcasting any incident of violence during the election process. It is necessary to ensure the wide participation of the Afghan people.”

This announcement came after another extremely violent and bloody day in Afghanistan, with at least 12 killed in more than a dozen bomb and rocket attacks all across the country.

The Taliban has called for a boycott of the elections, and vowed to arm voters, by cutting their ink stained fingers, and to attack polling stations.

The elections are a major test of power and will in the fight between the US and NATO against the Taliban.

In the context of the American strategy, the elections are essential. The US wants to show that Afghanistan has a minimum of stability & security to handle an election, which is the basic foundation of any democratic process.

Of course the Taliban has a complete opposite agenda. The insurgents are trying to illustrate that there is no stability in the country, that it is divided and lack basic security.

NATO forces will refrain from offensive operations on election day, according to a statement by NATO’s spokesman Brigadier-General Tremblay.

“Our effort, alongside our Afghan security partners, will focus on protecting the people of Afghanistan from the insurgents, so that the population can freely exercise their rights to choose their next president”, Tremblay said.

In the light of the dramatic violence surge of the last few weeks, the timing of the Obama administration to boost up troops level and to engage the Taliban in a major offensive, right before the election, was probably off. How legitimate will the elections be seen inside and outside Afghanistan remains, at this juncture, very problematic.

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