'Brave' Afghan voters hailed amid Taliban threats
Turnout has initially been put at about 40% Nato and the UN have praised voters who turned out for parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, despite violence that killed at least 14 people.
Nato forces chief Gen David Petraeus said the voice of Afghanistan's future belonged to the people, not extremists.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Afghan voters had shown "courage and determination".
Turnout has been put at 40%. However, there were many reports of fraud that may question the results.
More than 2,500 candidates are vying for 249 seats in the lower house of parliament, or Wolesi Jirga.
Governor targetedMost polling stations had opened on schedule on Saturday.
However, the Taliban staged a series of rocket and other attacks around the country to deter voters.
Analysis
There were widespread reports of violence across the country, and many deaths, but the Taliban and other insurgents failed to derail the vote.
Irregularities were expected in this election. President Karzai's government and his international partners need it to be a success - proof that life here is improving.
But the full extent of fraud will not be known until later. The remoteness of some polling stations mean donkeys have been used to ferry ballot boxes to and from the sites. And votes will be counted by hand, so the results are not expected till the end of October at the earliest, and even then will be subject to appeal by candidates.
The interior ministry said three security officials and 11 civilians had been killed.
The Kandahar provincial governor was also targeted in a bomb attack but survived.
Faizal Ahmad Manawi, head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), said initial figures pointed to a turnout figure of 40%. Turnout for the last parliamentary election, in 2005, was about 50%.
"As a whole I would rate this election successful," he said.
Gen Petraeus said the "people of Afghanistan sent a powerful message".
"The voice of Afghanistan's future does not belong to the violent extremists and terror networks. It belongs to the people," he said.
Gen Petraeus also praised the Afghan forces for "safeguarding a weapon with greater potential than any other - the people's right to vote".
Nato senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, Mark Sedwill, said the poll had shown "the future of Afghanistan remains one where violence cannot overthrow the democratic will of the people".
However the UN envoy to the country, Staffan de Mistura, told the BBC that it was premature to say the vote had been a success.
He said there had clearly been security problems, particularly in the south, but that in many other parts of the country the vote had been "enthusiastic".
'Stick to jihad'After casting his vote in central Kabul, President Karzai said that by taking part in the election, Afghans would "take the country many steps forward into a better future".
AFGHAN ELECTIONS
- Number of eligible voters: about 10.5 million
- Number of seats: 249
- Total number of candidates: 2,514, including 406 women
- Total number of polling centres: 6,835
- Polling centres closed because of security concerns: 1,019
- Estimated cost: $150m (£95.5m), paid by international partners
An Isaf spokesman said the level of violence had been similar to last year's presidential election, with 445 violent incidents on Saturday compared with 479 on 20 August last year.
But fraud remains a key concern to the credibility of the election.
The Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, a monitoring group, said it had found "extensive irregularities" and urged the Independent Election Commission "to ensure the integrity of the rest of the electoral process".
The foundation's Nader Nadery told the BBC it was to be welcomed that more people had voted than expected and that casualties from attacks were lower than anticipated.
But he said there were many problems with the indelible ink used to stop multiple voting, with proxy votes, interference by local power brokers and with a large amount of intimidation.
The BBC's Lyse Doucet in Kabul said among the incidents of fraud were the arrest of 26 people with fake identity cards in Helmand province and officials stuffing ballot boxes at one closed polling station in eastern Wardak province.
The Taliban had earlier warned voters to boycott the poll and "stick to jihad".
Preliminary results are to be announced on 22 September, with the final results due on 31 October.
The outcome is not expected to change the make-up of the government although President Karzai's credibility may be damaged if his preferred candidates are defeated, or if vote-rigging is suspected.
Afghanistan election: Young Afghans embrace polls
Cannot play media.You do not have the correct version of the flash player. Download the correct version
People in Afghanistan go to the polls on Saturday for only the second parliamentary elections since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
A sizeable number of the 2,500 candidates are young Afghans, apparently not put off by threats from the Taliban of punishment for those who vote.
Lyse Doucet reports from Kabul.
阿富汗國會大選 已10死
 |
| 一名穿著罩袍的婦女在投票前展示自己沾有墨漬的手指。 （路透） |
〔編 譯羅彥傑／綜合十八日外電報導〕阿富汗十八日舉行國會大選的投票，這是該國自去年弊端重重的總統選舉以來頭一次的大型選舉，考驗數月來矢言改革的阿富汗政 府是否有舉行安全與公平選舉的能力。不過，叛軍「神學士」試圖干擾投票，各地暴力事件頻傳，至少十人喪生，連美國大使館與北約為首多國部隊總部的附近也遭 殃，約八％的投票所被迫關閉。
暴力頻傳 神學士揚言殺害投票者
這次大選共有二千五百名候選人角逐國會二百四十九個席位，從當地時間上午七時（台灣時間上午十時半）開放投票，直至下午四時（台灣時間晚間七時半）結束，但最快要到十月八日才會有初步計票結果，正式結果則要等到十月底才會公布。
不過，由於全國各省會傳出一連串的火箭彈攻擊事件，加上「神學士」揚言只要選民去投票，就砍掉他們沾有投票墨水的手指，許多選民對前往投票所意興闌珊，寧可待在家裡。
警 方表示，「神學士」偷襲北部巴格蘭省一間投票所隔壁的安全哨站，殺害一名士兵與六名親政府的民兵，是當天傷亡最嚴重的攻擊事件。另外，北部塔哈爾省與東部 庫納省的火箭彈攻擊，導致三死九傷。東部科斯特省的一間投票所內也發生爆炸，導致兩名本國籍選舉觀察員受傷。科斯特省靠近與巴基斯坦交界處，屬於「神學 士」地盤。
8％投票所關閉 結果要等1個月
在美國總統歐巴馬十二月將進行撤軍速度與規模戰略情況下，大選若出現嚴重疏失將是阿國總統卡爾札伊的重大挫敗。目前阿富汗的治安已處於二○○一年「神學士」垮台以來最糟糕的程度，而暴力與舞弊頻傳的選舉肯定也對十一月國會期中選舉的歐巴馬構成壓力。
阿富汗的「獨立選舉委員會」（ＩＥＣ）表示，有鑑於神學士誓言搞破壞，ＩＥＣ先前已決定不開放另外一千零一十九個投票所。這些攻擊事件，加上關閉的投票所數目，引起外界擔心低投票率可能影響結果及可信度。
卡爾札伊在首都喀布爾總統府附近的中學投票，但卻出現意外插曲，因為有人洩漏消息指他投票給一位印度教女性候選人，這可能會激怒支持卡爾札伊的保守派勢力，這些保守勢力本來就反對女性參政。為改善女性在阿國的地位，國會有四分之一議席保留給女性。
----
Goldman Sachs 10,000 WomenAfghan Women Battle Internal and External Hostility on their Path to Entrepreneurship
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/10000women/article.cfm?articleid=6121
沒有留言:
張貼留言