Afghans plan to vote despite attacks

• Source: Global Times
• [01:05 August 20 2009]
• Comments

 An Afghan man poses yesterday with his donkeys, loaded with election supplies in the rugged mountains of the Panjshir valley. Photo: AFP

By Zhang Wen

Police killed three insurgents yesterday when five gunmen stormed a bank building in the Afghan capital of Kabul yesterday – the eve of the country’s presidential election – said Reuters.

It was the third major attack in Kabul in five days.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, reportedly claimed that the Taliban was responsible for the attack. He also said some of the gunmen wore suicide-bomb vests during the raid, according to the Telegraph.

In a statement yesterday on a Taliban website (www.alemara.org), the group said 20 suicide bombers had infiltrated the capital in preparation for attacks to thwart the election.

In southern Kandahar province, the birthplace of the Taliban, two election workers were killed Tuesday in a bomb blast, according to an election official.

Kandahar officials, fearing more election-related violence, were quoted by Reuters as saying they would close roads to normal traffic for today’s polling, allowing travel only to election workers and observers, as well as vehicles transporting voters and the media.

Eighty percent of polling stations have been supplied, and the rest – mostly in and around Kabul – had been fully equipped on schedule yesterday, election officials told AFP.

The Independent Election Commission planned yesterday to deliver ballot papers, boxes and other materials by helicopter to Pur Chaman, a district in the western province of Farah, because of reportedly poor security on land, according to Daud Ali Najafi, a senior commission official.

Preliminary polling estimates show President Hamid Karzai leading but likely to fall short of the outright majority needed to avoid an October run-off, most likely against his main challenger, ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.

“As of now, Karzai is more likely to win the election. As current president, he not only can assemble lots of administrative resources, but also has America’s support,” said Ye Hailin, a researcher at the
Institute of South Asia Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

“Regardless who will be the next president, it seems there won’t be any major differences on Afghan domestic policy and development,” Ye said.

“The election is a test for US President Barack Obama’s tactic of sending thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan to reverse the Taliban’s advances. If the election fails, it could be a major setback for the US’ new policy,” Ye added.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters Tuesday that the attacks could be viewed as “an effort by the Taliban to intimidate people from actually voting.”

Despite the poor security conditions and looming threats, many Afghans said they will vote. An opinion poll released this week found that two-thirds of the people considered the election “very important.”

“Why should I be afraid? This is Kabul; in Kabul there is security,” Noor Agha, 30, told Reuters yesterday. “I will vote tomorrow; I’m not afraid. Police and intelligence services are in the area, so I’m not afraid.”

Agencies contributed to this story