The upcoming Presidential elections favor four candidates, the incumbent Hamid Karzi, the former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, the former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani and a populous favorite Ramazan Bashardorf. None of these candidates are pro-Taliban. The disruption of the elections serve only one purpose and that is to undermine any attempts at democracy for the Afghan people.
"The Christian Science Monitor" makes this observation:
High voter turnout this spring (click title to entry - thank you)
Mr. Hamidzada pointed out that large numbers of Afghans this spring defied the dangers and showed up to register for the elections.
"We have every reason to believe they will show up on election day and will not be deterred," he said. He added that he sees a positive side to the challenges: "This will give us an opportunity to demonstrate our resolve."
Like the car bombing Saturday at the ISAF headquarters, Tuesday's car bomb appeared to be quite large, knocking out windows in a 1,000-foot radius. The bomb struck within hundreds of feet of a British military compound, and also near the Independent Election Commission, the United Nations, and a US military base.
Eyewitnesses described a Toyota Corolla ramming into a convoy of foreign troops.
"I fell unconscious for a moment. When I woke up ... I saw people lying in the road and I tried to help," says Mohammad Ullah. "Later ISAF arrived there and surrounded the area and wouldn't allow anybody inside."
An hour after the blast, ISAF continued to keep out even Afghan Army and police units. At the scene of Saturday's blast, ISAF forces turned away the Kabul police chief in charge of security for elections....
The Monitor points to the fact there were similar dangers in other elections and the people of Afghanistan came to vote regardless the dangers they faced. Basically, the tactics of The Taliban don't work. They have to know they don't work, so why persist? I makes no sense.
Afghanistan has known nothing but war for a very long time. The people of that nation have been visited by every international criminal that is still alive to hide in the mountains and plot against civilization. They have hosted warlords of Poppy cultures, so another turbulent election cycle is nothing for them. Unfortunately, it is nothing for them. I admire these people. I always have. They live their lives in contentment of serving tea to passing guests and bringing to their family new children to love and hold in their arms until tragedy takes them away.
Nothing will deter the vote tomorrow.
And tomorrow services to be a historic Presidential election. For the first time since the inception of the new republic there may very well be a viable challenge to the current President Karzai. All four candidates are worthy, all are concerned for the people of Afghanistan, but, as in any multi-candidate election there will more than likely be a split vote propelling the top two candidates to a final vote later this year.
This may be the year President Karzai will not achieve more than 50% of the vote and that is the sincere challenge of the Afghan people tomorrow. Will they elect a steadfast figure for another five years, or will they elect the two most admired candidates in the country to a run off and still yet another democratically free election in Afghanistan?
I look forward to the results once again of the 'people of conscience' of Afghanistan. It will prove to be an exciting day with promise of more elections or a return to steadfastness of leadership. I wish them all good luck in achieving yet another democratic election with peril so few other democracies have to face. I admire them beyond their knowledge. I look forward to the outcome.
Since the USA has returned to the battlefield in Afghanistan there has been increasing stability of the region, including Pakistan.
