Gunmen Have Elections in Their Sights

Parliamentary candidate Abdul Hadi Dabeer has a problem with his election campaign – he’s in jail. He and his bodyguards were involved in a gunfight with police, three of whom were wounded.

But he may still be a candidate for the September 18 poll. The election complaints body is "still working on the matter. When the accusation is proved against him, then the commission will take steps," said Farid Hamidi, a member of the five-member commission set up by the Joint Electoral Management Body, JEMB.

At least one aspect of the case has been proven, according to interior ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal, "After the investigation, it was clear that the weapons that Dabeer had did not have licences, and that these were illegal weapons."

That gunfight erupted when police went to order the would-be parliamentarian to halt the construction of a house which was deemed illegal.

There are other signs that the law demanding that candidates abandon their weapons is being flouted.

This week, for example, two candidates in the southeastern province of Nangarhar resorted to guns after a row over the distribution of posters.

"One man was killed and two others wounded in the clash and there are still fears of confrontation …in the future as well," said another local candidate, Mohammad Hassan Kamalzai.

Mia Malang Qaderi, the JEMB’s local representative, said, "We will investigate this incident and then submit a report to JEMB officials in Kabul."

And in an interview with local television, Haji Shir Alam, the governor of Ghazni province – himself viewed by many as a warlord - acknowledged that candidates in his province still had guns. He said that he would collect these weapons, by force if necessary.

There appears to be a certain flexibility around the election rules, in a country where guns are as commonplace as mobile phones. And threats and intimidation by candidates are making a mockery of the rules.

In the northern Balkh province, one resident who was afraid to give his name, told IWPR, "Akhtar Mohammad [a local militia commander] has warned that if the people of any village don't vote for him, then he will cut off the water to their village. People have decided to vote for him for fear of being deprived of water."

Akhtar Mohammad is a former commander with the National Islamic Front, one of the mujahedin-era factions.

In Sayed Abad district of neighbouring Sar-e-Pul province, a resident accused Kamal Cherik of maintaining an armed militia so that no one could disobey his orders. This man, who did not want to give his name, said the candidate’s followers were responsible for killing and torture.

"The failure to remove Kamal's name from the final list has made us distrust the government, and each day that passes the real nature of [President Hamed] Karzai and his colleagues has become clear for the nation," said the man.

IWPR’s efforts to interview Kamal Cherik at his strongly guarded house failed.

"The commander doesn't want to be interviewed by anyone," said one of the heavily-armed militia men with a laugh, after disappearing for 10 minutes inside the high walls surrounding the building.

The election rules are quite clear: no one with guns or armed supporters, other than two duly licensed bodyguards, can stand.

Even distributing gun licences to candidates’ bodyguards has proved a controversial issue, despite the fact that five candidates have been killed and the homes of others have been burned or hit by rockets.

The 200-member Council of Independent Candidates in Kabul opposes any legal distribution of weapons.

Its spokesman Ghaus Zulmai said people who do not feel safe in their own areas and are scared of their electorate can never represent the public.

“Our final decision is that we don't want weapons, because we want to represent our people independently and not start out with guns. We want a peaceful election race,” he said.

Political analyst Abdul Karim Khuram says that whatever the rules, many candidates still hold weapons, lead armed groups or are involved in drug smuggling.

If such individuals get into parliament it may be extremely difficult to bring them to justice. Khuram believes they will be able to make laws to protect themselves from prosecution. "Even though they don't have the same ideology and are divided into different groups, if the issue of crime comes up, all of them are likely to rally together," he said.

Even an existing law aimed at eliminating those candidates who have blood on their hands appears to be helping undermine the credibility of the election process.

The legislation states that no one who has been convicted of a crime can stand for parliament. By a perverse logic, many interpret this as giving a legal "certificate of innocence" to everyone who manages to get onto the ballot paper.

Only one Afghan warlord has been tried, convicted and sentenced for war crimes - and that was the recent case of Commander Zardad in Britain. No one in Afghanistan has been brought to trial.

The fact that there are officially-sanctioned candidates whom voters regard as criminals or warlords has led to a widespread belief that election organisers have given these men a shield from future prosecution.

Reflecting this view, one political analyst, Nabi Asir, said: "Those people whose names are on the candidate list have been seen as innocent under Afghan law, so if any complaint is made against their war crimes, the court cannot do anything."

That perception is wrong, according to Dr Abdul Malik Kamawi, a senior official with the Afghan Supreme Court. He told IWPR that those named on the final elections lists can still be tried if there is evidence to show that they are criminals.

“The complaints commission’s decision cannot have any effect on rulings that will be made by the courts in the future. Afghan courts have the authority to issue decrees themselves,” he said.

Kamawi did not want to comment on the issue in more detail. The precise nature of parliament's powers and the extent of immunity for those in the new assembly – the first to be elected for several decades - remains unclear.

The level of concern over the poll process and the fear of future abuse of power by those elected, was well illustrated in Kabul earlier this month.

Pahlawan Nasim, aged 50, came to Kabul from Baghlan province with 200 local residents to see President Karzai and tell him that many candidates in the province are still armed, and are oppressing people.

He said Karzai promised to look into it – a pledge which did little to erase his fears that parliament will run by armed men.

Nasim's visit bore out the sentiments expressed in a report earlier this year by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, AIHRC, which underlined how important justice and the rule of law are to ordinary Afghans after years of oppression and being caught between warring militia.

In quote after quote, fearful and unnamed victims echo the title of the report, "A Call for Justice".

"Today, the same war criminals are ruling the people and have the affairs of state in their hands," said one man from Zabul.

Another, looking to the future, said, "After the establishment of an elected government by the will of the people of Afghanistan, institutions that protect the rights of victims should be established."

In the fog of distrust that surrounds the character and motives of individual candidates, around the election process itself, and abuses and intimidation that the powerful will use to get elected, many ordinary voters see little chance of a parliament doing much for them.

It is unclear yet what power parliament will have to pass laws. The country is presently ruled by a government separate from any assembly. But many voters believe that those elected will seek immunity either through their position or will try to pass laws guaranteeing their freedom from prosecution.

"It will be very difficult to punish those criminals… because once they get seats in parliament, they themselves will be in power," said the same resident of Sayed Abad district.

Salima Ghafari and Wahidullah Amani are IWPR staff reporters in Kabul. Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi is an IWPR staff reporter in Mazar-e-Sharif.