Afghan Youth Debates: Candidates Must Build Public Trust

Candidates standing in Afghanistan's provincial and presidential elections must conduct responsible campaigns in an effort to build public confidence in the vote, an IWPR debate has heard.

Naim Rahim, regional director of a youth affairs programme in Kunduz province, said candidates had a duty to respect the rules of the electoral process and to condemn dishonest and corrupt behaviour.

"If members of the public see that candidates are running sound, ethical campaigns, they will vote with confidence," he said. "But if politicians don’t do that, voters will lose faith in the transparency of the elections and may not take part.”

Rahim was speaking during a discussion on what people could expect from candidates in the April 5 polls.

Zabiullah Shirzad, a spokesman for the Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA), an independent body set up to help monitor the vote, said all those seeking election were required to adhere to rigorous campaign standards. No candidate was permitted to use government property to stage political rallies.

“All the relevant election observer bodies, including FEFA, should keep a careful watch for violations,” he said. “Any breach risks undermining the transparency of the vote and the public's trust in democracy.”

Freshta Joyenda, regional head of gender equality at the Independent Election Commission (IEC) in Kunduz, agreed that it was key for candidates to be seen to be running honest, responsible campaigns.

She predicted that areas where security was poor in this northern province were likely to see the highest levels of fraud.

“If any candidate is found to be violating election law, then the matter must be reported to the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission," she told more than 80 undergraduates from Kunduz University at the March 20 event. "If it is a grave violation, it may lead to the candidate being ruled out of the race."

Mohammad Isa Aria is a student at Kunduz University and an IWPR trainee.  

This report was produced as part of Open Minds: Speaking Up, Reaching Out – Promoting University and Youth Participation in Afghan Elections, an IWPR initiative funded by the US embassy in Kabul.