Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Defying threats, millions vote in Afghanistan

Rebels fail to subvert the vote, boosting peace efforts four years after the Taliban was ousted.

By Daniel Cooney / Associated Press

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KABUL, Afghanistan -- From women in burqas in former Taliban strongholds to impoverished desert nomads, Afghans embraced the chance to vote in the final formal step toward democracy. But the country faces myriad threats, from a reinvigorated insurgency to rampant drug production and power-hungry warlords.

Turnout for Sunday's legislative elections was lower than many hoped, taking a little of the luster off the historic day. Still, the rebels' failure to make good on threats to subvert the vote was a major boost to efforts to bring peace nearly four years after U.S.-led forces drove the Taliban from power.

"For the millions of Afghans who turned out to vote, this was a significant ... advance on the road to democracy," U.S. Ambassador Ronald Neumann said in Kabul. "Four years ago, the Taliban were here and women were being stoned to death ... and now you have women running polling centers and women voting."

He cautioned that the vote should not be seen as a signal that the United States and other countries can turn their back on Afghanistan and start to bring home many of the 20,000 soldiers in the American-led coalition and 11,000 NATO peacekeepers.

"The international community is going to have to stay involved for a long time," Neumann said.

Heavily guarded convoys hauled ballots Monday across Afghanistan's rugged terrain to counting centers. Provisional results are expected by early October and certified results by Oct. 22.

Sarah Lister, head of the Afghan Research Evaluation Unit, an independent Kabul-based research group, said people could become disillusioned with democracy if they don't see obvious progress.

"We need people to stay involved in the democratic process, not reject it," she said. "If people feel they are not getting their needs met by the process, it could be a problem for stability."