OPINION: Afghan Elections Deserve Our Attention

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 9/28/5 | Cinnamon Stillwell

[SmithL]

Something remarkable happened in Afghanistan this month. The war-torn country held its first parliamentary election in 35 years and 12.5 million people, men and women, were registered to vote.

Terrorists mounted a desperate attempt over the preceding months to stop the election, but to no avail. Despite killing 1,000 people, including seven candidates and six poll workers, several of them women, the harbingers of destruction failed to intimidate the Afghan people. And thanks to U.S., NATO and Afghan forces, violence was at a minimum the day of the election. As Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal put it, "After all their boasting, it's a big failure for the Taliban."

The U.N.-Afghan election commission accomplished a momentous task in pulling off the election. In what's being called "one of the most difficult logistical operations ever undertaken by international electoral workers," 6,000 polling sites were set up all over the country. In some cases, donkeys, camels and airplanes were needed to transport voting materials. Some 5,800 candidates sought seats in the 249-seat national assembly, 68 of which were reserved for women. Candidates such as the 25-year-old Sabrina Sagheb stirred things up in a country long wracked not just by gender inequality but by virtual apartheid.

As in last year's presidential election, the Afghan people showed themselves well up to the task of democracy. At just over 50 percent, the turnout was lower than last time, but the numbers were still pretty impressive, considering the circumstances.

Defying threats of violence and their own rugged landscape, Afghans made their way through deserts and mountains so they could take part in the democratic process. A third of them were women, . . .

[SmithL]

Legacy media will continue to ignore it unless a lot of people get blown up.

[SeenTheLight]

SeenTheLight Ping

[SeenTheLight]

Ping