Sunday May 18, 2014
Ghazni (BNA) As the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC) prepares to hold the presidential elections for a second round, the people of Afghanistan expect that the election run-off is held with transparency, fairness and credibility.
There are speculations that the country will confront serious challenges and crisis if the credibility and legitimacy of the polling is undermined. Both the Afghan people and international community hope that time the elections are held in a manner that every Afghan citizen is able to exercise his democratic rights by casting their votes.
In the meantime, a number of political parties and coalitions have emphasized that the government besides providing inclusive security must also contribute in reining frauds and riggings during the people so that fairness is maintained.
Following concerns over legitimacy and security of the second round, President Karzai in one of his statement reiterated that he was strongly supporting holding of free and transparent elections so that the history remembers his name with honesty and pride. “If the elections are held in free and transparent manner, history will remember my name with pride,” President Karzai said.
The president also stressed on the security institutions to work hard and ensure that every Afghan citizen vote in the elections under peaceful environment. Security officials on Friday reassured the public that they have begun the necessary preparations to ensure the safety of voters in the second round.
As the summer wears on, so too does the fighting season in Afghanistan, many are concerned that the second round will face greater oppositions from insurgents groups than the first did.
Yet local officials around the country on Friday seemed confident in their precautionary measures. “We are completely ready, we discuss the issue in our meetings and make plans, and we will try to provide better security than the first round,” Kandahar Governor Toryalai Wesa said. Central Security Ministries on Thursday, following the announcement of the final results, said that steps had already been taken over the past couple weeks to prepare for the runoff.
“All measures that were taken in the first round will be maintained this time as well,” Baghlan Police Chief Aminullah Amarkhail said. “If needed, we will consult with the Ministry of Defense and Interior for more troops and will make available resources to overcome the challenges.”
The two leading candidates from the first round Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai will be running in the runoff after no one received a majority of votes in the first round. “We are completely ready for the second round and have paved the way for the people to exercise their votes and select their president,” Zabul Police Chief Ghulam Sakhi Rogh Lewanai said.
This year’s second round will be the first of its kind in Afghan history, adding further significance so what was already the country’s first democratic transition of power in modern history. It is quite significant to mention that Afghanistan stands in highly sensitive situations these days in view of ongoing crisis and threats.
What the nation needs is to revitalize their national unity and be together to overcome on the issues effectively so that the plots and conspiracies of the enemies are foiled. The political parties must work hard to give the people confidence about their future and avoid any kind of blame games that could harm the political stability of the country.
Because already the election process has left negative impacts on national economic development process and many domestic and international investors await outcomes of the elections. If the election does not go well, analysts have said the consequences on the national economy could be devastating. “God forbid, if the credibility, transparency and outcomes of the elections are not honored, the next president isn’t supported by the nation and international community, there could be an economic crisis in the country,” analyst Azarakhsh Hafizi said.
Afghanistan has long struggled with ethnic tensions and strife, but this year, there has been a noticeable lack of overt ethno-nationalism in election process. Still, some are concerned voters rely on ethnic and regional ties instead of more substantive issues to determine their favored candidate. While stressing the importance of a national unity heading into the second round, and Afghanistan first democratic transition of power in modern history, Nuristani also expressed confidence in the maturity of Afghan voters. This comes at a time that chairman of Afghanistan independent Election Commission (IEC) Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani urged on the people of Afghanistan to avoid any sort of ethical considerations during the elections.
On April 5 millions of Afghans including the women came out of their homes and commuted toward the polling stations to vote in the presidential and provincial councils’ elections and lead the country toward change and strengthening democracy and rule of law. Participation of the people in the elections was unprecedented and it followed major reactions inside and in international sphere. Because, the Taliban militant group and their collaborators had warned the people on voting, but the Afghan people despite confronting major security threats came out to mark the future of the country by taking in a democratic process.
