Elections

You’ve probably been hearing a bit about the Afghan elections that are going on now as I write. For live updates on election coverage check out http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8209279.stm. This is the second ever Afghan presidential election and the feeling about this chance to cast a vote for the country’s leader seems to be a mix of pride, fear, and apathy depending on a person’s politics and location. There’s been a lot of news coverage but what I haven’t heard much about is how an average Afghan may be thinking about voting. In much of the country, voting today may mean risking losing a finger, being targeted on your way to and from or at the polling station, or being targeted in the future for being known to have participated in a government initiative. It’s hard to imagine facing this decision. Some people (many?) are already disillusioned with government because of its lack of ability to increase security and its, at times, actual perpetuation of violence, intimidation, or corruption. Yet generally it seems people think Karzai will win again. I have not experienced a feeling of inspiration among the people I’ve talked with about the election but I could certainly be missing or misreading people’s sentiments. There have been some big turnouts at campaign events (in part because food, transportation, and pay may be provided) and long lines at some of the polling stations today. In a conversation with an Afghan in Kabul the other day, one of the safer places in the country, I asked how people felt about going to the polls. This was a few days ago, the morning after the explosion near ISAF and the US Embassy but before the more recent explosions. He said some people were too scared to vote but some people would still be voting, including him.

I think it’s exciting that Karzai has some legitimate challengers in Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani and they’ve pushed the debate in a positive direction. If Karzai doesn’t win 50%, the election will go into a run-off scheduled for October. This is a tricky situation where a change in leadership may be positive but the process of making that change could be pretty tumultuous and difficult in the short term. Unifying this country is a huge task.

For the elections we’re holed up in Bamiyan where things are generally relaxed and people are going to the polls. The only Taliban related activity is that last week the Taliban “governor” here was arrested and is now in jail in Kabul. (The Taliban maintain a government-like structure that parallels the actual government.) We are laying low for a few days but plan for a return to normal movement tomorrow. Hopefully that’s the case not just for us but for the country too. Some photos here from my few days in Bamiyan before laying low—my second Afghan run (check out my running clothes, ha! and my running partner is in the blue) and an evening walk around Bamiyan center a couple evenings ago where wheat harvesting is full-on. Much of the green contrasting with the wheat is the potatoes that will be harvested in October.