Maintain the Transparency of Afghanistan’s Elections

The recent trend in electoral disturbances has been a cause of concern. During the Afghan presidential elections on Aug 20, there was a rapid succession of polling place attacks by the former ruling Taliban, in addition to gun battles and explosions. According to Afghan authorities, the number of attacks has exceeded 130, with more than 20 deaths among citizens and police.

These incidents demonstrate the present difficulty in checking the deterioration of public order. In recent years, the Taliban has strengthened its attacks. It has been giving a harder fight to the ISAF forces, which are mainly composed from NATO members.

By sending rocket attacks to polling areas, the Taliban show their willingness to indiscriminately kill citizens for the sake of interfering with elections. One cannot help but call these actions cowardly and base. On the other hand, in spite of the international observation team’s indirect effort – of which Japan is a part of – to ensure a fair election, vote-buying and other fraud has been widespread. This should be a cause for concern.

After the election, President Karzai and the rival camp of former foreign minister Abdullah both declared victory, complicating the situation. The voter turnout, around 70 percent in the previous election, was less than 40 to 50 percent this time, casting doubt on the legality of the election.

This time it was agreed that if a candidate does not gain a majority, the top two candidates would have a run-off ballot. Whatever the means, I hope for the vote tallying to be done in a fair and transparent manner, accepted by the Afghan people and the international community. I want the authorities to ensure the safety of the ballot counts and counters. The will of the voters who braved the dangers just to vote must be made to count.

This election is a vote of confidence for the 2004 winner Karzai. A pro-American candidate, he became president after the U.S. military toppled the Taliban regime. However, there has not been a great improvement in the livelihood of the common people, and the government’s corruption is glaring. In addition, there are the never ending deaths of citizens from U.S. bombings.

Under these circumstances, Karzai has been labeled “America’s Karzai,” and criticism has been growing. Support has grown for former foreign minister Abdullah and other candidates who have distanced themselves from the president. But whoever wins, this country’s greatest problem will still be restoring public order. It will be necessary to remove the threat of the Taliban and terrorist organizations like al-Qaida.

At this point, I am concerned at the cooling public opinion in America, which is the greatest backer of Afghan public security. According to the Washington Post and other newspapers’ polls, the number of respondents who answered that “the Afghan War is not worth fighting” has risen to 51 percent. It has increased to over 50 percent for the first time since the survey started in 2007. The Obama administration may have to consider expanding dialogue with Taliban moderates and rethinking the way America wages war in Afghanistan.