quote:

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One of the unexpected results of the election was the strong performance of female candidates. The Afghan Constitution guarantees that “from each province on average at least two female delegates shall have membership to the Wolesi Jirga”, therefore guaranteeing women 68 seats (27 percent) in the 249 member WJ. A surprising number of women, however, won their seats in their own right and ended up not needing the quota provisions of the Constitution and election law. Table 6 lists by region the 19 WJ female candidates who won their seats irrespective of the reserved seats for women. Even in the more conservative Pashtun provinces of the east, southeast and south, some female candidates were able to win non-quota seats, although these were fewer in number than in other regions.

How did Fauzia Gailani, a politically unknown individual who ran a gym for women in Herat, defeat 161 other WJ candidates, many of whom had the strong political and financial backing of the powerful jihad-era commander, former Herat Governor, and now Cabinet Minister, Ismail Khan? Fauzia Gailani, like many other female candidates including Safia Sidiqi in Nangarhar, Malalai Joya in Farah, and Hawa Nuristani in Nuristan, ran very energetic and effective election campaigns. A more convincing explanation was that voting for female candidates was a protest vote against many of the unsavoury male candidates.

"It might be possible to have an alliance between liberal mujaheddin and liberal technocrats. We will have a good parliament if the liberals ally together. If fundamentalists gain control then we will have another disaster."

The election of approximately 23 candidates with leftist or communist backgrounds, including 15 who were formerly affiliated with the PDPA, surprised many observers. Most notable were the victories of two former senior PDPA officials – Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoi, who won the top position in Khost, and Noorulhaq Ulomi, who won the second highest number of votes in Kandahar.

Women’s seats provided an avenue through which not only women, but also some of the more recently established small liberal and left-oriented parties, could enter the NA. Of the 13 seats won by candidates affiliated with these parties, eight were won by women.

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About 43 left or liberal candidates were succesful:

- 15 members who belong to or are aligned with 11 primarily left/democratic parties or factions: - Left parties 6, Jabha-ye Democratic-e Milli (14 party alliance) 7, Hezbe Paiwand-e-Milli (Ismaili Party, Nadiri) 2.

- 20 Hezb-e Junbesh-e Milli Afghanistan (Dostum, secular Uzbek nationalist)

- 7 Afghan Millat Party (Ahadi, pro-government, secular)

- 1 Hezb-e Hambastagee Milli Jawana-ye
Afghanistan (Jamil Karzai)

Then there are 93 independents. "Twenty-seven of these independent members are women, many of whom are likely to oppose the passage of a conservative social agenda, especially measures that would restrict the rights of women."

[ 08 March 2006: Message edited by: Wilf Day ]

quote:

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The election of approximately 23 candidates with leftist or communist backgrounds, including 15 who were formerly affiliated with the PDPA, surprised many observers. Most notable were the victories of two former senior PDPA officials – Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoi, who won the top position in Khost, and Noorulhaq Ulomi, who won the second highest number of votes in Kandahar

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Yes, that is surprising when considering the outmigration of Afghani's and chaotic situation in that country all around. I wonder what voter turnout was?. It sounds like Afghani elections were no more open, freer or fairer than past elections in Central America under threat of terrorism and war by a country 100 times their size.

quote:

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Some examples of the numerous election day irregularities that were given primarily by
successful WJ and PC candidates and neutral observers (i.e., not losing candidates looking
for excuses) included:

• Intimidation by armed groups. “In Shorabak 50 armed men occupied a polling centre and no one else could enter.” (successful PC candidate)
• Partisan local government officials. “The district governor of Reg said the security
situation wasn’t good so he didn’t open up polling centres in areas that would vote
against his brother who was a candidate.” (national election observer)
• Partisan and corrupt JEMB staff. “Some JEMB staff have relationships with candidates and some staff are paid by candidates. Someone offered to find me someone on JEMB staff who could help me.” (PC candidate)
• Inappropriate location of polling centres. “The brother of the governor in [a southern province] had a polling centre in his house despite being a candidate.” (WJ candidate)
• Polling stations captured by candidates. “In Hazarjuft, a WJ candidate…who was a commander took control of the polling centre for two hours. I’ve signed complaint letters but nothing happened.” (WJ candidate)
• Purchase of votes. “One of my relatives…saw agents from different candidates giving 100 or 150 Afghanis to voters.” (WJ candidate)
• Multiple registration cards and multiple voting. “Lots of election cards were bought. Some were bought and used and some were bought to prevent voters from voting for other candidates.” (successful WJ candidate)
• Proxy voting using female voter cards. “The government claims 40–50 percent of
women participated but no women participated out of the city. Our agents didn’t see any female voters, but in Riwani village there were four boxes of women’s votes… One man brought 5–10 cards of women and used them all to vote. No one stopped him because people thought they had the right to do it. No one told them they couldn’t.” (successful WJ candidate)
• Stuffing ballot boxes. “Some candidates took boxes into their houses and filled them – 32 boxes were filled in Spin Boldak…In some places the doors of the polling centre were locked while they stuffed the ballot boxes. And this is where we had our agent – I can’t imagine what happened in the places where we had no agents.”(successful WJ candidate)

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It's obvious why Islamo-fascists were targeted for support by the CIA and Saudi imperialists. None of them really believe in democracy.

[ 08 March 2006: Message edited by: Fidel ]

- Shahnawaz Tanai, party chairman of Da Afghanistan Da Solay Ghorzang Gond (Afghanistan Peace Movement), a former minister of defense under the Soviet-backed communist regime of Najibullah.

- Abdul Rashid Aryan, leader of Hizb-e Milli (National Party) which has its roots in the Khalq faction of the PDPA, he was minister of justice under Taraki and then a Revolutionary Council member under Amin. Support base is former Pashtun Khalqis.

From a Canadian viewpoint, what interests me is, what do these leftists say about us? Do they want us to go home?

I wondered why Gen. Rashid Dostum was listed as a liberal above, since I thought he was just a warlord. This explains it:

quote:

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Junbish-i Milli-yi Islami (National Islamic Movement): In April 2005, General Dostum stood down as the party’s head after entering the cabinet as Karzai’s chief of military staff. Sayyid Noorullah, a former member of the Najibullah government, is assumed to have taken over the party leadership. However, Dostum will undoubtedly remain the de facto head. With its roots in the Parcham wing of the PDPA and a base in Uzbek majority areas of the north, Junbish has transformed itself from an armed militia to a political party, whose strengths include a distinct ideology, an established political network, and organisational experience. It has expanded in the northeast, initially by coopting Uzbek mujahideen commanders who felt sidelined by former Defence Minister Fahim, and then, in 2003, by establishing its party headquarters in Taloqan, Takhar’s capital. Much like the PDPA, Junbish is intolerant of political opposition. Opponents such as Groh-e Kar (Labour Group), an Uzbek PDPA faction, are forced to maintain a low profile. Junbish’s appeal among rural Uzbeks is undermined by its internal contradictions. At district level, abusive militia commanders represent the party more often than the socially liberal individuals who draft its party politics.

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Junbish-i Milli-yi Islami (National Islamic Movement): In April 2005, General Dostum
stood down as the party’s head after entering the cabinet as Karzai’s chief of military staff. Sayyid Noorullah, a former member of the Najibullah government, is assumed to Afghanistan: Parliamentary and provincial elections - 2005 22
have taken over the party leadership. However, Dostum will undoubtedly remain the de facto head. With its roots in the Parcham wing of the PDPA and a base in Uzbek majority areas of the north, Junbish has transformed itself from an armed militia to a political party, whose strengths include a distinct ideology, an established political network, and organisational experience. It has expanded in the northeast, initially by coopting Uzbek mujahideen commanders who felt sidelined by former Defence Minister Fahim, and then, in 2003, by establishing its party headquarters in Taloqan, Takhar’s capital. Much like the PDPA, Junbish is intolerant of political opposition. Opponents such as Groh-e Kar (Labour Group), an Uzbek PDPA faction, are forced to maintain a low profile. Junbish’s appeal among rural Uzbeks is undermined by its internal contradictions. At district level, abusive militia commanders represent the party more
often than the socially liberal individuals who draft its party politics.

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UN Engineer Shot To Death By Taliban In Afghanistan
- Afghanobserver.com March 7

quote:

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The Afghan engineer Mohammad Hashim was killed by assault rifle fire on Saturday in the Bala Buluk district of Farah province where he was undertaking rural rehabilitation work, provincial police chief Gen. Sayed Aqa Saqib said.

Tom Koenigs, special representative of the U.N. secretary-general for Afghanistan, said six armed men dragged Hashim from a car and shot him

"Mr. Hashim's death is a great loss for Afghanistan and for all of us in the United Nations family here," Koenigs said in a statement.

"The death of such a treasured colleague will be a matter of enormous sadness to those who knew him, and to all who care about Afghanistan's rebuilding," he added.

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Afgha.com

Perfect! No, there are absolutely no Afghani's who want outside help in picking their country up off its knees from 19th century to 21st. That's just ludicrous. Feudal serfs and the women of Afghanistan have come to enjoy Islamo-fascism. They wouldn't have it any other way.

We would fail because colonialists and imperialists before us tried their best but fell short. Afghanistan for Afghani's and all that. Ya rrrright eh Wilf. And don't forget to include CIA blowbacks like Hekmatyar and Omar and the rest of the foreign mercenaries while millions take refuge in other countries.

[ 09 March 2006: Message edited by: Fidel ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Wilf Day:
Here's what we need: a comprehensive analysis of who got elected to the Afghan National Assembly (pp. 4 - 15):

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What we need is a comprehensive analysis of why only 33% of registered voters in Kabul (the supposed Kharazi safe zone) voted in the elections.

quote:

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A low turnout in the parliamentary elections, only 33% of those registered in Kabul, was seen by many analysts as further proof of popular disillusionment at some of the figures who were allowed to stand.

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Any thoughts on how that impacts upon our views of voter trends in Afgahanistan Wilf?

[ 22 March 2006: Message edited by: Cueball ]