Are Elections Possible in Helmand?

The Taleban are not a shadowy threat in Nawa district of Helmand province. They are a constant presence; sometimes they are the people next door. Everyone in Nawa knows the Taleban, and the Taleban make sure they know them. When deciding whether or not to vote in the August 20 presidential election, residents have to calculate the risks of opposing the powerful rebels, who have vowed to disrupt the process.



“The Taleban are baring their teeth at us,” said Mualem Shah Wali Khan, a community elder. “They will not let us vote. If I go to the polling centre, then you will very soon hear that Mualem Shah Wali’s head has been chopped off.”



Helmand, Afghanistan’s largest province and the centre of two of its main scourges – drugs and conflict—has been the stage for two major military operations over the past month: Operation Khanjar (Dagger Thrust), an American-led offensive directed at the southern Helmand River valley, and Operation Panjai Palang (Panther’s Claw), in which the British took on the Taleban north of the capital, Lashkar Gah.



According to both US and UK officials, one of the major aims of the operations had been to make the population feel secure enough to vote on election day.



But judging by statements from residents in various districts of Helmand, that goal may still be a long way off.



“There are Taleban in Marja, and nobody is going to be able to vote there,” said Marja resident Jan Mohammad Rahmani. “People have lost hope. Their houses were bombed during the Karzai regime, this thing with the foreign forces is not working, and the Taleban are still increasing their power day by day. It casts a big shadow of fear over the population.”



Engineer Abdul Hadi, the provincial head of the Independent Election Commission, said that Helmand would have 222 polling centres housing 1,092 polling stations.



But if the security situation does not improve markedly in the next two weeks, dozens of these centres could remain empty.



“You cannot conduct a military operation one day and expect people to come vote the next,” said Shah Nazar, a retired police officer. “People need to feel safe. But under these circumstances, nobody can participate in the elections.”



Even a campaign manager from the camp of President Hamed Karzai, who is seeking re-election, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IWPR that it was highly unlikely that the elections could actually take place outside the major cities.



“The campaign is actually going pretty well in Lashkar Gah,” he said. “But nobody is able to get out to the districts. I do not think it is going to be possible to hold the elections out there. The campaign is limited to the cities; the election will be, as well.”



Hajji Mohammad Zahir, head of the shura, or council, of Musa Qala district in Helmand, was similarly dismissive of the elections.



“It is all just symbolic,” he said. “There are a lot of meetings, with all the same people saying ‘I am the head of this or that, I can deliver this many votes or that many votes.’ But still there is no security. These same people come to very meeting, claiming to represent large groups. But they do not even represent themselves.”



Musa Qala will have a very low turnout, he predicted.



“This election commission is just bluffing when they say that lots of people are ready to vote,” he said.



Abdul Hadi, the IEC chief, says that ensuring the safety of voters is not in his brief.



“Security is not our job, and I do not want to speak about it,” he said. “We only take care of the logistics.”



There have been some successes. The two military operations have opened the door to many who had not been able to obtain voter registration cards during the registration period earlier this year. In Babaji and Malgir, two areas near Lashkar Gah, hundreds of people were issued with documents in just one day.



“The Taleban are tyrants,” said Atta Mohammad, a resident of Malgir. “They took a 10,000 afghani (200 US dollars) fine from anyone caught with a voter card. I could go to Lashkar Gah or Greshk to register, but I could not get the card back to my home.”



Atta is happily registering now, although he is not sure that he will vote.



“I am registering in case they distribute some humanitarian assistance,” he said. “I want to be able to qualify.”



Many Helmandis are confused about voter registration cards, said political analyst Sarwar Ghafoori.



“The IEC public awareness office is very weak,” said Ghafoori. “They did not try to make people understand why they should vote for a new president. They have not told people what the card is for. Instead, they say ‘take this card. We will give you assistance if you vote for Candidate A.’”



Some districts in Helmand have been under Taleban control for years, with the residents being largely left out of the political process.



Washir, in the northwestern corner of the province, was taken over by the Taleban in February 2007, just after the fall of Musa Qala. Now residents are asking whether they will be able to take part in the elections.



“We want to vote,” said Faiz Mohammad, a resident of Grazan village in Washir. “We want to elect somebody who can take away our sorrow and pain.”



But Washir is still firmly in Taleban hands. No registration drive was conducted there, and the IEC will not be able to have polling centres in Washir. People could go to Lashkar Gah or another city to cast their vote, but if the Taleban are to be believed, this will not be possible.



“We call on the mujahedin of the Islamic Emirate [Afghanistan] to close all the roads going to villages and cities one day ahead of the elections,” Taleban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmady said in a statement. “We will not let anybody travel.”



If anyone is brave or foolhardy enough to try to participate in the elections, the Taleban will not hesitate to take action, said Qari Yusuf.



“Instead of participating in elections, people should go and fight for jihad,” he said. “These elections are not for Afghans, they are in the interests of America and her allies.”



Douglas Alexander, UK Secretary of State for International Development, visited Helmand in late July, meeting the governor as well as ordinary Helmandis who had made the dangerous journey from the districts to share their stories with him.



“What do you need in order to be able to vote in Nad Ali?” Alexander asked one tribal elder, perhaps expecting a shopping list of logistical supplies. “What are your priorities?”



“My friend,” said one of those present. “In order to participate in these elections we need security. Nothing else.”



Mohammad Ilyas Dayee is an IWPR reporter in Helmand.