Posted on 10/08/2004 6:12:23 AM PDT by OESY
...[W]ar-weary Afghans will go to the polls tomorrow to participate in their country's first direct presidential elections....
Coming just three years after the nation was freed from the shackles of al Qaeda and the Taliban, tomorrow's voting is arguably one of the most significant events of the post-9/11 world.
Thought it won't be picture perfect, the election is a vital step in establishing democracy in Afghanistan. And it's happening right in the heart of the Islamic world.
Afghanistan has made tremendous progress toward democracy in very short order. Three years ago, the fundamentalist Taliban ruled the country with an iron fist and provided safe haven to al Qaeda.
In contrast, tomorrow, 18 candidates, including one courageous woman, will stand for a five-year term as Afghan president — backed by a new democratic constitution.
More than 10.6 million Afghans (of 25 million total, children included) have registered to vote. Remarkably, 42 percent of them are women — an impossibility under the Taliban. And in all but two (violence-plagued) provinces of the country's 34, voter registration exceeded 68 percent.
Even refugees will be able to vote. In Pakistan, 650,000 refugees registered, as did 400,000 in Iran. All in all, the vote should represent a broad cross-section of Afghanistan's diverse ethnic and tribal populations.
It's not all good news though. Security could be election day's biggest nightmare. Two thousand al Qaeda and Taliban jihadists will try to disrupt the elections, especially near their strongholds along the rural Pakistan border....
The candidates aren't safe either. Interim President Hamid Karzai, his vice presidential running mate and one of his deputies have all escaped separate assassination attempts in the last two months. Security concerns (plus a lack of funds, political experience — and roads) have limited vigorous, western-style campaigning.
Voter intimidation is also a worry....
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
There is an opportunity here to do some good. If we can get enough coverage, the Afghan elections can open some eyes.
Back when Nicaragua was coming out of the pit, TV coverage of citizens lined up at polls despite shootings, etc., went a long way toward dispelling liberal propaganda against our having helped them get the chance....
"It (anything that moves any country to the right) won't work" is the liberal mantra.. When an oppressed people are willing to put their lives on the line to vote it might shame a few American's who will only bother if Michael Moore promises them Oreos and pink underwear....
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