Militancy mars Afghanistan’s election campaign

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - Surrounded by grim ambiguities amid brazen terrorist attacks and rejuvenated peace talks between the U.S. and Taliban, the campaign for key presidential polls lingers in war-ravaged Afghanistan.

Figures compiled by Anadolu Agency suggest that at least 200 civilians and security forces lost their lives in the past one week alone, following an apparent surge in the Taliban’s onslaught across Afghanistan in the buildup to the presidential elections.

The official election campaign began on Sunday with the incumbent President Ashraf Ghani and 17 other candidates running for the top post.

On the maiden day, Kabul was rocked by multiple explosions followed by fierce armed battle at an election office of Ghani’s pick for the deputy president, Amrullah Saleh, who proudly presents himself as a staunch critic of Taliban.

The explosions occurred when Saleh, a former intelligence chief, had just returned from his maiden campaign rally with Ghani a few miles away from the office.

“Elections in Afgh [Afghanistan] is not just an event for transfer of power. The trillion dollars plus cost of evicting the Soviets, the Taliban & terrorists was to make elections the central bond gluing all Afghs [Afghanistan]. Now elections is currency of our emotions, sentiments & togetherness. No mess up,” he said in a Twitter post after surviving the attempt on his life.

Atiq Rehman, a Kabul-based writer and analyst, told Anadolu Agency that although the Taliban did not took responsibility for this attack, but Saleh remains top on their hit list.

“Their [Taliban] enmity with Saleh is an old one and this was not the first time he has survived. The Taliban usually do not take responsibility for attacks that cause civilian casualties and that may frame them in a negative way,” he said.

As condemnations pour in, Afghan officials on Monday put the death toll from Sunday night's attacks at 20.

- Clear contrast between capital, provinces

Afghanistan’s capital Kabul saw a variety of posters, billboards and placards of the candidates emerging in the city as the 60-day election campaign started on Sunday.

Away from the capital in the provinces, particularly in the countryside, there have been no evident signs of campaign, locals said.

Wali Mohammad, a resident of Logar province, said many people here continue to doubt the possibility of elections taking place.

“There is nothing here of the sort [rallies, posters, political meetings]. People are too frightened and officials and politicians are confined to their bullet-proof vehicles and barricaded quarters,” Mohammad told Anadolu Agency over the phone.

In the past one week, the capital city saw most of the casualties followed by Takhar, Logar, Helmand, Kandahar, Kunduz, Faryab, Ghazni and Nangarhar provinces.

In the 2014 presidential poll, 7 million Afghans out of 12 million eligible voters had cast their votes, according to the country’s electoral commission.

In 2018’s parliamentary elections, officials said at least 8.8 million people had obtained voter cards while the turnout was reported to be over 40%.

More than 70,000 security and defense forces were assigned to ensure security of the parliamentary elections across Afghanistan back then.

For the September polls, the cost is estimated around $149 million that will be jointly funded by the Kabul administration, international organizations and the U.S.

Out of the total 7,400 ballot boxes, set to be placed in polling stations, 2,012 are meant for the regions facing threats from Taliban militants, who are opposing the elections. Around 50,000 troops are set to protect ballot boxes, the country’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.

- No letup in Taliban attacks

Half of 34 provinces in the country, including the capital Kabul, have witnessed a surge in the attacks from Taliban. The Taliban, who are conducting peace talks with the U.S. in Qatar, have said that there will be no letup in their strikes.

In a special report titled “2018 Elections Violence”, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) noted last year the Taliban launched deliberate campaign of violence and intimidation to disrupt parliamentary elections, including attacks against civilians and civilian objects, resulting in record high numbers of civilians killed and injured on an election day.

The report verified a total of 435 civilian casualties (56 deaths and 379 injured) during the process.

Addressing his maiden election rally, President Ghani showcased the achievements of his five-year tenure in the National Unity Government. The main theme of his massive rally was the expedited efforts for peace talks with the Taliban.

“For the first time in 2014, I announced the unprecedented unconditional offer of peace talks to the Taliban. I call it unprecedented because the previous government had presented two conditions for negotiations with the Taliban, which were considered as major obstacles for the start of the peace process. But I have overcome these obstacles,” he said.

Another front-runner, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah -- Ghani’s power-sharing partner -- told a gathering in Kabul that the unity government has had both achievements and shortcomings.

“Unfortunately, during this [2014-2019] period there have been issues that have damaged the governance, Afghan politics, national unity, dignity and reputation of the Afghan people that you are aware of,” Abdullah said, referring to differences with Ghani.

Naim Ayubzadeh, head of independent watchdog Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan, said there is a need to ensure transparency during the campaign on the polling day.

"The government needs to assure all candidates that the state resources would not be used in favor or against any candidate," he said.

Among the 18 candidates also include former National Security Adviser Mohammad Haneef Atmar and former Mujahedeen leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

As per the Independent Election Commission rules, the candidates can spent no more than AFN 442 million ($ 5.5 million) on their election campaign.