Afghans Remain Resilient as Election Day Looms

Afghan security officials in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 25, 2014. (EPA Photo)

Earlier last month the Taliban began their annual spring offensive in the wake of Afghanistan’s first attempt at a democratic transfer of power. While the elections are a sign of progress and a confirmation that Afghans remain hopeful for their country, the Taliban reminds us that they are still a significant force in Afghanistan’s political landscape. 

On April 5, over  seven million Afghans went to the polls to vote in the first round of elections despite the Taliban’s efforts to thwart voter turnout and deter Afghans from partaking in their nascent democracy. The willingness to defy the Taliban by supporting the democratic process in Afghanistan proved itself as more than 50% of eligible voters went to the polls. However, leading up to election day, armed insurgents led a series of deadly attacks including a suicide bombing at the Afghan Interior Ministry and an attack on the Independent Election Commission (IEC) headquarters. Despite this violence, campaign rallies were still held across the country and remained relatively peaceful. 

Following the first round of elections the IEC stated that the results did not yield a clear winner, as no candidate was able to secure more than 50% of the votes. The front-running candidates, former Foreign Minister and Northern Alliance member Abdullah Abdullah, and Ashraf Ghani, former Finance Minister and World Bank economist, will face each other in a run-off date set for June 14. Both candidates have agreed to accept the outcome of the run-off and have disregarded any ideas of a coalition government. 

As violence continues to rise in Afghanistan, Abdullah and Ghani have appeared to show a willingness to work with the US on signing a security deal. This would allow for a limited number of US troops to remain in Afghanistan for training purposes and to aid in counterterrorism operations until the end of 2016, measures Karzai has chosen not to take in an attempt to distance himself from foreign powers. By ensuring a security deal with Afghanistan, the US is placing themselves in a position to wield tremendous political influence within the country and maintain a limited amount of control. 

As the withdrawal of US troops continues, and their combat mission nears an end, the Taliban have increased their terror attacks in an effort to weaken and destabilize the government. It has become apparent over the 13-year war that the Taliban cannot be militarily defeated, at least not to the point where they no longer serve as a threat to Afghanistan’s stability.

The Taliban has expressed deep resentment towards Western intervention; therefore as the withdrawal of US troops continues, there is hope that peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban might be successful.  The US and Afghanistan have recognized that the Taliban will continue to have a presence within the country regardless of who maintains control of the central government. In an effort to minimize violence, incumbent President Karzai has already initiated peace talks with the Taliban, steps both Abdullah and Ghani are also prepared to take. However, if the number of civilian casualties continues to rise out of these insurgent attacks, the more difficult it will be for the Taliban to gain any type of legitimate foothold within the country. 

With less than 30,000 US troops remaining in Afghanistan, the International Crisis Group has stated that “escalating violence and increased insurgent attacks” are to be expected. The organization also stated that while some areas have experienced more stability since the withdrawal of US troops, the Taliban is gaining more confidence in their insurgent attacks.  Afghan security forces have already taken full responsibility for the country’s defense — thus the spring offensive and potential run-off election violence could determine the readiness and effectiveness of their ability to combat the Taliban insurgency.  

While Afghanistan is seeing many “firsts” in 2014, there are obstacles that cannot be overlooked which cause serious challenges in its effort to move out of perpetual conflict. Many Afghans resolve to move forward with the elections proves that they remain hopeful, as this is the first time in decades that they have an opportunity at self-determination. With an estimate of more than 50% of eligible voters participating in the election process, 37% of voters being women, Afghans have proven their resilience through the inability to be swayed by the Taliban. Still, insecurity remains a looming problem, and as long as the Taliban persist in their pursuit of violence, Afghanistan will remain a country in transition.

By Katie Jessup on 07:01 pm Jun 10, 2014