Afghans defy Taleban threats to participate in first-ever democratic transition of government power

Blanketed by tight security and rain, Kabul witnessed virtually no violence and long lines at polling stations, despite a string of high-profile Taliban suicide attacks in the days before the vote. The Taliban vowed to disrupt elections, and kill or cut off the fingers of Afghans who took part.

There were multiple reports of violence in rural areas, and 211 voting centers out of 6,212 nationwide did not open due to security concerns. But in many cases Afghans surprised themselves – especially in urban centers – as ballots ran short in one-third of Afghan provinces and officials estimated a record high turnout of 60 percent of registered voters. Women voted in high numbers.

“It’s a historic day,” said shopkeeper Mohammad Shiri Sediqi, as he neared the end of a three-hour-long line on a muddy road in crowded southwest Kabul. “We have come to elect a person who will work for us in the future. We aren’t afraid of [Taliban] threats; that is for God to decide.”

President Hamid Karzai has led Afghanistan since shortly after US forces pushed the Taliban from power in late 2001, and he cannot run for reelection. Eight candidates are vying to replace him, and vowed that lessons had been learned from the fraud-laced 2009 vote.

“It’s historic, it’s transformative – democracy is getting rooted,” presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, one of the frontrunners, told the Monitor after casting his vote. The former finance minister and World Bank official said: “We believe in our people’s will, and it shall be done.”

Despite the rain, Kabul at times took on a carnival atmosphere, with pick-up games of soccer and cricket on mostly empty streets. Those Afghans who voted – dipping their fingers first in purple ink, and then getting a spray of invisible ink that could only be seen under the flashlights with ultra-violet lenses at each polling station – took part very seriously.

Security was also tight. Afghan intelligence officials announced before the polls opened that they had seized two rocket-propelled grenade launchers with 35 grenades, 28 AK-47 assault rifles, 31 police uniforms and 11 national police coats in a central district of Kabul. They had also quietly passed on warnings of five expected suicide attacks in the capital.

“People are not afraid because there is more security around here,” said Mohammad Zaman, a university student managing one polling station at a high school for girls. Desks and chairs had been placed outside, some carved with typical student graffiti like hearts and initials.