Afghans again defied Taliban threats to vote in the country’s twice-delayed, fourth presidential election since the ouster of Taliban in 2001, though the turnout was the lowest. Some of the key reasons for the low voter participation were insecurity, lack of public’s trust in election, and the uncertainty generated by US-Taliban peace talks. The Taliban’s threats to attack all election targets were the most serious they have ever made. They targeted some election rallies, leaving tens of people dead and scores wounded. The militants threatened to use all means and resources to disrupt the election process. Besides, the lingering disputes in previous elections had also badly affected people’s willingness to take part in the democratic process. Afghan people were not sure enough that their votes were crucial and would count, so they did not dare to take the risk to go to the polls. The US-Taliban negotiations had also overshadowed the election process. Until a few weeks before the polls, Afghans were not sure the presidential election would actually take place as there was an assumption that Americans and the Taliban would strike a deal before the election to end the long-running Afghan conflict.
The sharp drop in voter turnout, the lowest than in any of Afghanistan’s three presidential elections, is certainly a matter of grave concern as it weakens the legitimacy of the new government. But now that election was held, the will of people who participated in the ballot should be respected. People risked life and limb to cast their votes, and therefore, the presidential tickets must respect the votes and accept the results of genuine votes by remaining committed to the principle of political struggle.
Now the real responsibility rests on the electoral bodies: the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC). They should use all their resources to guarantee the transparency of the election results. The election commissions, especially IEC, which was unfortunately unsuccessful in properly managing the electoral process as most of the technical problems of parliamentary election reoccurred, must respect all the genuine votes. Through transparency in their affairs, not only should they guarantee the satisfaction of all presidential runners, but also strive to restore public trust in election. The work of electoral teams needs to assure people that their votes are valuable, and play a significant part in shaping their future.
