World

Rockets, threats disrupt Afghan election in south

admin Contributor
Font Size:

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A loud explosion 20 minutes before the polls opened set the tone for election day in this Taliban stronghold, where a series of rocket attacks and bombings dampened turnout despite a heavy presence of security forces.

One bomb attack narrowly missed the Kandahar provincial governor’s convoy as he traveled between polling stations to observe Saturday’s parliamentary vote.

International troops and Afghan forces have been ramping security in this key southern region — the birthplace of the Taliban movement — in an attempt to keep insurgents from staging attacks and turn the tide of the nine-year war.

Those who ventured out to vote did so slowly at first, a few members of one family at a time. Later, groups of voters left their homes and headed to polling stations. But when the polls closed, it was clear that turnout had been lower than during last year’s presidential election.

Voters’ sentiments ranged from defiance and pride in exercising their democratic right, to deep skepticism about the political process.

Bibi Zarghona, said she was excited to cast a ballot for her own candidate.

“I’m happy that we have female candidates who can deliver our own message,” she said. “If we sit in our homes scared, this thing, this terror will never come to an end. We have to face some difficulties to have a better and secure future.”

Malalia Bibi said she didn’t believe in the election and only voted because her husband asked her to. She said she became disillusioned by the democratic process after the candidate she voted for in the nation’s first parliamentary election didn’t help people with their problems. The lawmaker was rarely in Kandahar and very difficult to reach, she said.

“I don’t have any expectations for this election,” Bibi said.

At a news conference in the Afghan capital of Kabul, Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak boasted of the security gains since last year’s ballot.

“Why the participation was low? Nobody can be sure definitively, but it might be as a result of the enemy’s negative campaign to terrorize the people not to participate because they were claiming that they would be able to create much more damage than what they were actually physically able to inflict,” he said.

Altogether, insurgents launched about a dozen attacks on the city. No one died but about a half-dozen people were injured, according to hospital officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they said the government instructed them not to disclose information about election-related violence.

One rocket damaged the wall of a police station. Another fell near a market, but a tree took the brunt of the blast.

Throughout the day, law enforcement, intelligence and government officials monitored areas in the province via satellite television hookups from the compound of Kandahar provincial Gov. Turyalai Wesa. Security was tight; the city looked like it was under curfew.

In July, hundreds of Afghanistan’s most elite police unit arrived in Kandahar to help staff new checkpoints — one of the first visible signs of NATO’s attempt with Afghan forces to bolster security in the largest southern city. The Afghan National Civil Order Police, partnered with international forces, are manning new checkpoints around the clock, forming a security perimeter around the city.

On election day, vehicles without special election passes were banned from the streets.

Wesa, who had high hopes for greater turnout, appealed to voters to go to the polls despite threats.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Wesa said. “The enemy wants the election to fail so if you want the insurgents out of your land, you’ll have to come out and vote.”

A few hours later, one bomb exploded about the same time that his convoy was moving into a southern district and another bomb nearly missed his vehicle as he was moving between polling centers.

“Thanks to God, we have no casualties,” Wesa said later.

Voting stations were busier in Zhari district, an area just outside Kandahar where Taliban leader Mullah Omar’s radical Islamic movement was born, because the strong troop presence assured voters it was safe to go to the polls.

“People are fed up with the Taliban. That’s why they’re coming out more and more so they can get rid of the Taliban,” said Saleh Naeem, a businessman. “Because of the Taliban, business is in a bad condition in Zhari.”

In Panjwai district to the west of Kandahar, people voted in town, but Taliban threats kept people in outlying areas at home. In Dand district, just south of Kandahar, residents exhibited little fear about going to vote.

“I cast my vote and now I’m back to doing my business,” said shopkeeper Mohammad Shoaib. “I don’t know about the other people, but I was personally satisfied with the voting in our district.”

The ballot, however, was far from perfect.

Matiullah, a Kandahar man who uses only one name, said hundreds of people in his village of about 600 gave their voting cards to the village elder who was supposed to vote for them.

“My father asked me to give the card,” he said. “This is what we did the last time. Everyone submitted their card to the elder.”

___

Associated Press Writer Deb Riechmann in Kabul contributed to this report.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel