Hard Road to Voter Registration

From the rural villages to the bustling provincial cities, teams of workers are busy registering voters in advance of the country’s landmark presidential election on October 9.

Helicopters fly over the mountains to distribute and pick up registration documents. In remote areas, election workers use donkeys to carry registration cards over narrow, steep passes.

There are no reliable population figures, since no census has been conducted during the past two decades of war. But Sayed Mohammad Azam, a spokesman for the Joint Election Management Body, said that despite numerous problems, more than 7.6 million people, including three million women, have so far registered to vote.

But while the registration effort has faced substantial difficulties, it may yet prove to be the easiest part of the election process.

A number of challenges continue to face United Nations workers and Afghan election officials - from major security problems and violent political opposition to difficulties stemming from traditional Afghan attitudes and culture.

A resurgence of Taleban and al-Qaeda forces poses an ongoing threat to the process, particularly in the south.

The Taleban and other radical Islamic groups are vehemently opposed to the election, boycotting the registration efforts and using threats and intimidation to discourage others from registering as well.

Several attacks, believed to have been conducted by Taleban or radical Islamists, have deliberately targeted unarmed Afghans and foreign election workers.

Late last month, gunmen attacked a bus, killing 16 passengers, in the southeastern province of Zabul, where Taleban are believed to be operating. The sole survivor of the attack said the others appeared to have been killed because they were carrying voter-registration cards.

In the eastern province of Nangarhar, two women involved in voter registration were killed in a car bomb attack late last month, while in the eastern province of Nuristan, two British election workers were killed in May.

The Taleban has been blamed for all of these attacks.

IWPR recently reported that a clandestine leaflet known as a “night letter”, threatening death and retribution for those participating in registration efforts, was distributed in the central province of Wardak and in other nearby provinces.

"The workers with the United Nations in the UNAMA [UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan] election process should quit their jobs,” the note warned. “Otherwise, they will be responsible for what happens to them.”

Taleban supporters were believed to be responsible for the threat.

In addition, other local commanders, gunmen and armed militias continue to pose a threat to the election process.

Unconfirmed reports from Jalalabad tell of gunmen forcing people to hand over their registration cards so that would-be candidates in the presidential election could get the 10,000 copies of ID cards they need to submit in order to be allowed to run.

There have also been reports of people selling their voting cards. Azam confirmed that two men were recently arrested for buying registration cards but would provide no further details.

"Those involved could be jailed for two years or fined 1,000 [US] dollars," he said.

A resident from the Paghman district of Kabul city, who spoke on condition that his name be withheld, told IWPR what happened after he received an election card.

One night, after his father had left for the mosque, armed men came to their home, warning that they would kill him and his family if he participated in the upcoming election.

"We tore up our voting cards and put them into a fire, because we do not want to create problems for ourselves in the future," he said.

"The big obstacle facing the next elections is the existence of irresponsible gunmen. As long as these gunmen remain in the provinces, this problem will not be resolved," said Habibullah Rafi, an analyst and the head of the encyclopaedia department of the Science Academy.

Meanwhile, some clerics have openly preached against the election and told people not to sign up for election cards or take part in the vote.

These clerics say that the election is against Islam and that the president should be elected via the ulema, or religious scholars.

One religious scholar who did not want his name to be used said, "We condemn the election because it is not taking place within the framework of Islam.

"The president should be elected under the leadership of the ulema, who are the heirs of our Prophet.”

It’s difficult to judge just how much impact such mullahs are having on the population.

The lifestyle of Afghanistan's nomadic kuchi people also poses a challenge to voter registration efforts. Election regulations require voters to cast their ballots where they registered. But many of these nomads have already moved far away from their registration centres. So far, an estimated 70,000 kuchis have registered.

Meanwhile, the public’s inexperience with the election process has created its own set of problems.

Haji Fazlallah, of Logar province, registered and took a voting card. But he said the reason he registered was because he was told that the card could allow him to travel into the capital. Previous regimes had often demanded documentation to enter Kabul.

“I will keep the card, but will not vote for anybody,” he said.

The UN is organising an education campaign to inform people about the election and combat such ignorance.

One bright spot has been that the number of women who have registered to vote has actually exceeded the expectations of the UN staff.

But it appears that a significant number of women are still being prevented from registering by their husbands.

Rohina, 30, who lives in Shakardara, a district north of Kabul, said that her husband won’t allow her to have a voting card.

"My husband has a card, but won't allow me to have [one] and says, ‘your children are sick, take them to the doctor. Why do you need a card?'" she said.

Farima, 25, also says her husband has prevented her from registering.

"I haven't got a card. My husband is bad-tempered and won't give me permission [to go],” she said. “I can't get a card without my husband's permission."

Other women who do have voting cards said they will not be allowed to vote for the candidate of their choice. Instead, they will be forced to vote for whomever their husbands choose.

"I don’t know who I should vote for,” said Meena, 23, from Shakardara. “Whatever my husband says I will do. If I were educated, then I would know whom I should vote for."

Bibi Khalida, also from Shakardara and the wife of a malik, a traditional village leader, also said she will vote for the same candidate as her husband.

"When he votes for someone, I too will vote for that person,” she said. “We women don’t have any responsibility. Whatever it is that our husbands want, we accept."

Still, some Afghans appear to understand the true value of having the right to vote. They’ve already demonstrated to what lengths they’re willing to go to for the chance to participate.

Agha Mohammad, 40, arrived at a voting registrations centre outside Kabul hot, sweaty and rather bad tempered.

He had travelled for an hour with his young son perched in front of him on a donkey, riding over narrow mountain roads in the midday sun to get to Bahzadi village registration center.

There he dismounted and his son Zubair, 9, held the animal while he went in and had his photograph and fingerprints taken.

He brushed aside questions. He was tired. He mounted the donkey and, with his son, rode off - carrying his voting registration card.

Wahidullah Amani is a staff reporter with IWPR in Kabul. Staff reporters Suhaila Muhseni, Shahabuddin Tarakhil and Jawad Sharifzada also contributed to this report.