Progress and Pitfalls of “Peace-Building”

in Afghanistan continues....

As the media were quick to report, however, significant problems

marred the elections, including a sharp decline in voter turnout from the

Presidential elections held a year earlier. There were also some allegations

of intimidation and vote rigging on election day, and widespread reports

of fraud during the ballot counting process.

The Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC)—the official, independent body established by the electoral law to handle electoral grievance—was inundated with 5,397 registered complaints, which delayed the announcement of the final election results until mid-November. Most of the allegations were not sufficiently substantiated to be considered by the ECC, and the JEMB, did not believe that the level of fraud affected “the integrity of the

elections.”

The elections were also a victim of Afghanistan’s weak judicial

institutions as well as a preference to accommodate rather than confront

many candidates with the potential to cause trouble. The resulting lax

candidate vetting process enabled many candidates with links to illegal

armed groups, narcotics trafficking, criminal gangs, as well as some facing

war crime allegations, to contest and win. These factors undermined the

perceived credibility of the elections and tarnished the image of the new

National Assembly in the eyes of many Afghans.

To be continued....