Posted on 09/18/2005 9:10:57 PM PDT by konaice
DEAR readers, the orderly way the parliamentary and provincial assembly elections were held in Afghanistan yesterday is reassurance that the system of democracy has come to stay in the landlocked nation, despite the many threats it faced.
The good news from Afghanistan is also that the warlords and others who tried to thwart the election process have failed miserably. All what they could do was to close down a few polling stations for a few hours, or kill some candidates in the run-up to the polls, or take the lives of a few people in stray cases of violence. That millions of people lined up for the voting, in a more forceful repeat of the presidential elections there in October last, shows the people's resolve to support the democratic process even in the face of grave threats to their lives.
It is significant that this is the first time in 30 years that parliamentary elections have taken place in Afghanistan, a land where the overthrow of the monarchy, the foreign occupation, wars, and the ham-handed ways of the warlords have all turned life upside down for three decades. Afghanistan is slowly but steadily regaining its inner strengths.
As president Hamid Karzai put it, yesterday was the day of self-determination for the Afghan people. His view is that Afghanistan is moving forward, making economy and making political institutions. But, on the ground, the scenario is far from satisfactory. Violence continues to take a heavy toll, though militancy is on the wane. Many areas continue to be above the reach of the central command in Kabul. Insurgency remains a thorn in the nation's flesh. It will not do if the government in Kabul goes after some warlords and not all. The feeling is that Karzai has no control over many areas, a reason why some call him "Mayor of Kabul". The government has to be challenging lawlessness in all forms, and establishing proper systems of governance in all parts of the country.
On the development front, there is no serious action yet. Afghanistan is rated the world's fifth poorest country, and economically the worst outside the sphere of Africa. The basic requirements for development, namely road networks and electricity supply, have not been in place in most areas. These are some of the areas the new government will have to apply its urgent attention to.
The Afghan election process this time again invited criticism in relation to the lack of proper preparedness. There, for instance, was no voter enumeration before the polling process was set in motion. Only half the people could be enrolled for yesterday's voting. There were also limits to the security cover for candidates, a reason why some candidates were done to death by those opposing the holding of the elections. Yet, the fact is also that some 100,000 Afghan police personnel were deployed for election duty, alongside a strength of 30,000 foreign troops.
Dear readers, despite the imperfections in the election process, it is significant that Afghanistan has crossed another milestone in its pro-democracy shift towards a civilized system of governance. President Hamid Karzai and the new government must see to it that they do not let down the people. Therein lies the success of democracy experiment in Afghanistan.
"It is significant that Afghanistan has crossed another milestone in its pro-democracy shift towards a civilized system of governance."
It is also significant that in a country the left said could not operate a Democracy, is finding it works better than any could imagine, even where a significant percentages of the population is illiterate.
"It would seem that the press from the region "Gets It" where our press refuses."
India has long been a victim of islamic terrorism.
I've got a post up about Bush and Katrina you might find interesting.
Read your posts. Excellent perspective you are providing,and wanted to thank you for for the time and energy you put into it.
Interesting perspective. People here are asking the same kinds of questions.
Thanks so much for your kind comments - I hope to get more time to dedicate to this.
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