Progress and Pitfalls of “Peace-Building”

in Afghanistan continues....

On 18 September 2005, more than six million Afghans voted to elect

the lower house of the legislative National Assembly (Wolesi Jirga) and

Provincial Councils. These elections marked the end of the transitional

political process outlined in the Bonn Agreement of December 2001, and

the beginning for Afghanistan’s first democratically elected legislature in

over 30 years.

The organisation and implementation of the elections were an impressive logistical and technical feat, especially given the tight time frames and the difficult operating environment. Despite threats to disruptthe elections by Taleban insurgents, a major security presence by national and international forces, ensured a relatively peaceful election day. Elected candidates covered a wide political spectrum and represented all major ethnic and religious groups, demonstrating the presence of pluralism to a certain extent.

Of particular note was the strong performance of female

candidates, nearly 30 percent of whom were elected by the people and not

on the basis of the women’s quota seats.

In view of the daunting logistical, political and security challenges

confronting election organisers, the 2005 elections were remarkable.

Nearly 180,000 Joint Electoral Management Body’s (JEMB) national

staff, 541 international staff and 60,000 security officials worked within

an extremely tight timeframe, often in insecure environments, to ensure

that on election day voting could take place at 6,267 different locations

throughout the country. The JEMB acknowledged that as in many

countries emerging from conflict, there were irregularities that should not

be overlooked and must be addressed in future elections.

As a result of clear indications of fraud “ballots from 672 polling stations and additional ballot boxes were excluded from the count.” The JEMB concluded, however, that the elections represent “a credible and accepted electoral event,” and that “the results reflect the will of the voters.” This

assessment generally reflects the views of the Afghan government as well

as members of the international community working in Afghanistan,

many of whom (like the United States) congratulated Afghanistan on the success of the elections.

To be continued.......