Election situation in Afghanistan voting 10/9

[troubleinwinter]

"The Taliban have identified all 18 <"candidates"> as "top targets" for assassination. In mid-September, Karzai had a near-miss with an enemy missile as he helicoptered on a campaign trip.

On election day, there will be 18,500 U.S. troops, 13,500 Afghan soldiers and 9,000 NATO forces in Afghanistan to keep the peace. Karzai had requested another 5,300 NATO troops, but the security alliance refused. The British are sending Harrier bomber jets and the Dutch are dispatching F-16 strike aircraft.

Even with all these soldiers present, as much as 80 percent of the country will remain without added protection of any kind.

The U.S. forces, who include an extra 1,000 Army airborne and infantry soldiers recently deployed to augment the American troops already there, will not be directly involved in protecting polling places or voters. Instead, they will be on call in case of attacks or other trouble.

Convoys of trucks bearing ballots from the hinterlands will be escorted by warplanes and other military vehicles to protect against hijacking.

Extraordinary precautions will also be taken at the thousands of counting stations throughout the country. In Kandahar, for example, the count will occur in a stadium that three years ago was the site of public executions by the Taliban. Reinforced containers are being dug into the ground to hold ballots, while those counting ballots will be in rocket-proof bunkers and other reinforced concrete shelters.

The biggest potential fraud could come from Afghans who, at the behest of warlords or on their own volition, try to vote more than once. To guard against that, everyone who votes will have his or her thumb dipped in indelible ink, which will remain visible for five days. Ballots will be marked with indelible-ink pens to prevent anyone from trying to alter the ballots.

Human Rights Watch estimates that as many as half of the 10 million Afghans who signed up have registered more than once. Some Afghans are offering to sell their cards for $100 or more. In some regions, more people registered than are known to even live there."

http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=AFGHAN-VOTE-09-30-04&cat=AN

[troubleinwinter]

1. "sham"

"RISKS HIGH

He noted the rise in propaganda activity by Taliban insurgents in rural areas aimed at dissuading people from voting in the country's first ever direct presidential poll.

Remnants of the militia, ousted from power in late 2001, have vowed to attack foreign troops on Afghan soil and disrupt the election, which they describe as a U.S.-orchestrated "sham".

More than 10 million Afghans have registered to vote, 40 percent of them women. But many presidential candidates have called for the poll to be delayed amid concerns over security which has limited their ability to campaign."


http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/breakingnews/view.asp?msgID=7226