Posted on 09/24/2005 7:43:26 AM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – The people of Afghanistan woke up this morning to a brighter future, after successfully voting in their new leadership in a day marked by limited violence near only a handful of voting stations.
Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police and international military forces ensured more than 12.5 million registered voters had an opportunity to participate in the National Assembly Elections in a relatively safe and secure environment.
Jahwedolah, an ANP patrolman said, “It’s a historical day that we have today…it will be good for our future and we will have a good future.”
“The election results will not be known for several weeks,” said Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, Commander of the Combined Joint Task Force 76. “However, we believe the real winners in this process are the people of Afghanistan who courageously took a stand against years of violence and oppression and took a major step forward toward peace and prosperity.”
“Let there be no doubt that the success of the National Assembly Election has strengthened the resolve and commitment of U.S. and Coalition Forces. We will relentlessly continue security operations, in partnership with Afghan National Security Forces, to keep the enemy on the defensive and to continue to bring security, reconstruction, and development to the Afghan people on behalf of their central government. ”
There are about 30,000 members of the Afghanistan National Army and 50,000 Afghanistan National Police in uniform providing security to its people and participating in operations designed to quell any resurgence of Taliban or other terrorist organizations.
“For three decades everything has come apart and been destroyed by war. No one had the freedom to vote for the President or the National Assembly. So today is the day we vote…it’s a very important day,“ Said Asem explained at a polling site in Parwan yesterday.
Mazi Rashidi, another voter from the same area added, “We vote today for candidates to the National Assembly. And when we have problems in the village or the district, these elected representatives will take those problems to the government.”
Since Afghanistan ’s last successful election, when the Afghan majority democratically elected President Hamad Karzai into office, the strength of the government has increased. It will only grow stronger as it will now be fueled by legitimately elected provincial representation from across Afghanistan .
Thanks!
Bump!
Wait a minute!
Wasn't the LSM telling us ,just yesterday, that there would only be 36% or LESS voter turnout?>
Hmmmm.
Let's see. 12.5 million from 25 million = what?
Oh yeah!
50% !!!
This doesn't say that 12.5 million VOTED. It just says they had an OPPORTUNITY to vote. We don't know yet what the turnout really was. In the presidential elections, I think it was a little under 8 million.
Bump! Bump!
Election bump!!
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