(Thumbnail Image: The Sydney Morning Herald)

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

Ahead of Saturday’s parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, international observers are raising concerns for the security of the country’s 10 million eligible voters. This as Taliban militants said Thursday they plan to attack polling stations throughout the country.

Reuters reports the elections will cost an estimated $150 million dollars, much of that coming from international donors.

Al Jazeera explains that’s why allegations of fraud ahead of the elections are so concerning to international observers.

REPORTER: “This is Bashir, he had 4,000 cards on him and was selling them to parliamentary candidates for up to $50 each.”
BASHIR: “I’m still a member of staff for the election commission, and I can make use of that. There are districts where the security is bad, and the observers cannot go there. If we wanted to take a ballot box away, we can do that. It’s not only me; everyone is committing this fraud.”

But the BBC suggests there are more serious concerns about the legitimacy of the elections—voters simply don’t feel safe going to the polls.

REPORTER: “This is what it takes to report on the election. We’re flying to Ghazni providence, two hours by road from the capital, but so dangerous, the only safe route is up here..."
VOTER: “If we try to vote, the Taliban will cut off our ears, or worse, they’ll kill us..."
REPORTER: “These exclusive pictures, filmed by a local cameraman for the BBC, show the insurgents in training. They’re well-armed, highly mobile, and ruthlessly effective.”

Voice of America focuses on another fear – that election officials are discriminating against certain ethnic groups.

“Election officials said roughly 15 percent of more than 6,000 polling centers will not open due to poor security. A leader of the ethnic Hazara minority… has accused the Afghan government of deliberately shutting polling stations ... in order to swing the vote...”

Finally, for The Huffington Post, an American writer working in Afghanistan blames the fragile security surrounding the elections on what she calls “American bigotry” – coming on the heels of weeks of well-publicized debates about American attitudes toward Islam.

“As Afghanistan holds its elections this Saturday, we need to set a better example of tolerance and equality. We should hold fast to those ideals our country was founded upon that we tout as the basis for democracy in other countries.”
 

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