The Afghanis go to the polls this weekend. That is something unique in itself, but as this piece from The New York Times describes things, this isn't the usual election many of us will have encountered.
"There is much about Afghanistan’s presidential campaigns that Americans would probably find familiar. Chartered jets carry candidates to corners of the country where they would ordinarily never set foot, political operatives try to spin skeptical reporters, and rich men hand over bundles of cash to curry favor with their next potential president.
But this is Afghanistan, where democracy must be conducted in wartime. Forget the discreet handguns favored by a typical Secret Service detail — the guards accompanying Afghan presidential candidates step onto planes with AK-47s as their personal items, and sometimes rocket-propelled grenades make it as carry-on baggage.
All that is perhaps fitting for a campaign that began with election officials asking presidential hopefuls to please leave their gunmen at home when they registered their candidacies. Given the Taliban’s threats to disrupt the election, however, security concerns have been no joke. Though the Taliban managed to strike a voter registration center and the election commission’s headquarters before the official campaign period ended Wednesday, the campaigns themselves have emerged largely unscathed.
Still, there are parts of Afghanistan, some within an hour or two of Kabul, where the Taliban are firmly in charge. No campaigns ventured to those rural districts, where even Afghan soldiers rarely leave their bases, and in many areas there will most likely be no voting come Saturday.
Kabul, meanwhile, has been subjected to repeated Taliban attacks, and Afghan officials fear there are more to come before Saturday.
On Wednesday, cracked streets normally snarled with traffic and broken sidewalks often choked by pedestrians were wide open. Shops were closed, markets empty. Many of Kabul’s residents apparently decided it was a good time to stay home.
Those who did venture out had to contend with myriad checkpoints manned by police officers (easy), soldiers (a bit tougher) and Afghan intelligence operatives (lots of questions)."
"There is much about Afghanistan’s presidential campaigns that Americans would probably find familiar. Chartered jets carry candidates to corners of the country where they would ordinarily never set foot, political operatives try to spin skeptical reporters, and rich men hand over bundles of cash to curry favor with their next potential president.
But this is Afghanistan, where democracy must be conducted in wartime. Forget the discreet handguns favored by a typical Secret Service detail — the guards accompanying Afghan presidential candidates step onto planes with AK-47s as their personal items, and sometimes rocket-propelled grenades make it as carry-on baggage.
All that is perhaps fitting for a campaign that began with election officials asking presidential hopefuls to please leave their gunmen at home when they registered their candidacies. Given the Taliban’s threats to disrupt the election, however, security concerns have been no joke. Though the Taliban managed to strike a voter registration center and the election commission’s headquarters before the official campaign period ended Wednesday, the campaigns themselves have emerged largely unscathed.
Still, there are parts of Afghanistan, some within an hour or two of Kabul, where the Taliban are firmly in charge. No campaigns ventured to those rural districts, where even Afghan soldiers rarely leave their bases, and in many areas there will most likely be no voting come Saturday.
Kabul, meanwhile, has been subjected to repeated Taliban attacks, and Afghan officials fear there are more to come before Saturday.
On Wednesday, cracked streets normally snarled with traffic and broken sidewalks often choked by pedestrians were wide open. Shops were closed, markets empty. Many of Kabul’s residents apparently decided it was a good time to stay home.
Those who did venture out had to contend with myriad checkpoints manned by police officers (easy), soldiers (a bit tougher) and Afghan intelligence operatives (lots of questions)."
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