Afghanistan: Hubbubs on the Election Fraud

After the UN backed Electoral Complaint Commission’s findings of serious election fraud in the August 20 presidential elections, Afghanistan is now officially all set for a run-off election which is to be held on November 7. But the ludicrousness of the whole exercise can be traced to the international media’s  failure, despite its great interest in the Afghanistan 2009 elections, to see the real issues being faced by the people of Afghanistan.

The ECC found that both the top contenders for the president’s post, Hamid Karzai and Abdulla Abdulla, are guilty of fraud. The Commission’s report wiped out Karzai’s claim to have won the elections with 54% of the vote and it disqualified him from assuming the president’s post. On the other hand it also threw out 200,000 votes from Abdulla Abdulla’s account. But as the ultimate disgrace, the run-off election is to be held with the same two villains in the fray, who have shown little compunction in trying virtually to deceive a people who had even defied death to perform their primary duty of voting in the elections. Dozens of civilians were killed and several cities were battered by the Taliban during the August 20 elections. More than two cases were reported of the Taliban militants cutting off the ink-stained fingers of individuals who dared to cast their votes.

Neither NATO - the so-called saviours of Afghanistan - nor the international community has bothered to bring the culprits to book. Nobody talks about the 200 top electoral officials who have been deemed guilty. One can only expect an imperial force  or their cronies to do less than nothing for the good of a country which has for long been the target of a long term imperial agenda. And nobody addresses the actual question of the day - will Afghans, especially those in conflict areas, bother to vote again? The experts have already expressed their apprehension of a very low turnout for the November 7 run-off polls. The situation further worsens as the Taliban has issued a grave threat against the election on the very first day of the official campaign for the run-off elections.

What is not discussed in this context is the current socio-economic condition of the country. The same day on which the ECC report was released, there was another report from Afghan, which was neglected by almost everyone or dismissed as nothing new. The report said that 56 Afghanis were arrested in Indonesia while trying to migrate illegally to Australia for a better life. The recent UN report shows that there are 5 million Afghanis who still remain as refugees in the neighbouring countries. The actual figure is much higher, and the number of internally displaced persons is truly enormous. The people of Afghanistan still find it hard to live in their own country which is ruled by the coalition of Taliban, NATO soldiers, corrupt politicians, local warlords and opium lobbies.

Peace, reconstruction and stability are the vital necessities that the people of Afganistan are looking for. The US is trying to fish in the troubled waters of Afghanistan. It seems to be so generous of the US to deploy 40,000 additional troops in that troubled country. The time is right for an international debate on the additional military deployment which the US quietly got away with in the hubbub surrounding the election fraud. And the need of the hour is to make sure that promises of international aid to Afghanistan are fulfilled so that the new government can actually work towards a better future for the country. The US still owes half of the promised amount of $25 billion, which is yet to be delivered. Also both men in the electoral fray need to realize that this is not the time for political differences; they need to put aside their respective political ambitions and work together for a secure and stable future for their country.