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Only 36% of eligible voters turned out in Kabul, where Western presence is strongest...



Afghan Count Reveals Kabul Indifference

Thursday September 22, 2005 3:01 PM

By STEVE GUTTERMAN

Associated Press Writer

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Nearly two-thirds of registered voters in Kabul apparently stayed away from Afghanistan's landmark legislative polls, an election official said Thursday as workers counted ballots under the close watch of candidates' representatives.

The U.N.-Afghan chief electoral officer, Peter Erben, said early reports from nearly all polling centers suggested nationwide turnout averaged about 53 percent, with some 6.6 million voters casting ballots in the country's first parliamentary elections in 36 years.

But turnout in Kabul appeared to have been about 36 percent, he said.

The drop in voter participation from the 70 percent recorded in last fall's presidential election has tempered celebrations of Sunday's vote as another big step to democracy.

It sends a message that the government and its Western backers must move fast to rebuild the country, boost the economy and improve security or risk embittering Afghans disgruntled over the pace of change after decades of bloodshed and hardship.

Erben declined to speculate on possible reasons for the low turnout in Kabul and the surrounding province.

Sarah Lister, head of the Afghan Research Evaluation Unit, an independent Kabul-based research group, said people in the capital might have felt let down when improvements did not come as quickly as hoped for after the election of President Hamid Karzai. There is anger about rising prices and perceptions of abuses in Western-aided reconstruction efforts, she said.

Lister said another factor could have been voter confusion from the large number of candidates with similar messages in Kabul.

Election observers and human rights activists also have said fears of violence, anger over warlords on the ballot and distrust of politicians kept many people away from the polls. Some Afghans who did not vote said they had seen little improvement in the economy or their own lives.

Erben reiterated his upbeat assessment of the elections, saying that in countries emerging from war, turnout in the first election is often higher than in the next vote.

Workers began counting ballots Tuesday, and Erben said officials hoped to have complete provisional results by Oct. 4. The target date for certified results is Oct. 22.

Erben urged tens of thousands of observers monitoring the counting process on behalf of parties and candidates to follow rules limiting the frequency and length of their visits.

Crowds of observers and agents have been milling outside some of the 32 counting centers, and Erben said some stay longer than the allotted two hours once inside.

``We have experienced some scenes at some counting centers which have disrupted the count,'' he said.