[Mb-civic] NYTimes.com Article: Afghanistan Votes

michael at intrafi.com michael at intrafi.com
Tue Oct 12 11:23:32 PDT 2004


The article below from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by michael at intrafi.com.



/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\

 I HEART HUCKABEES - OPENING IN SELECT CITIES OCTOBER 1

 From David O. Russell, writer and director of THREE KINGS
 and FLIRTING WITH DISASTER comes an existential comedy
 starring Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Hupert, Jude Law, Jason
 Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Mark Wahlberg and Naomi Watts.
 Watch the trailer now at:

 http://www.foxsearchlight.com/huckabees/index_nyt.html

\----------------------------------------------------------/


Afghanistan Votes

October 12, 2004
 


 

For the first time in Afghanistan's long history, ordinary
people had a chance to vote for their nation's leader on
Saturday, and neither threats of terrorist disruptions nor
cynicism about alleged behind-the-scenes deal-making could
keep them away. 

This is a country where day-to-day security is so lacking
in most areas that international aid agencies operate at
their own peril, President Hamid Karzai rarely dared to
campaign outside his capital, and many voters were exposed
to intimidation attempts by local warlords. Yet millions of
men and women throughout the country bravely turned out to
affirm their faith in a democratic future. Their courage
deserves to be vindicated by parliamentary elections, which
have been repeatedly postponed and are now planned for next
year. 

The pacing of the Afghan elections has been to some degree
a matter more of political convenience for the Bush
administration than of what's best for Afghan democracy.
But the intermission will give the new president - widely
presumed to be Mr. Karzai, Washington's favored candidate -
time to correct the technical and organizational problems
that tarnished, but did not disable, Saturday's balloting.
These included poor controls over the distribution of voter
registration cards and a breakdown in the indelible-ink
system meant to be the main safeguard to keep people from
voting more than once. 

Mr. Karzai's 15 challengers initially called for the vote
to be nullified. Now several, including the most prominent,
have sensibly changed their minds, settling instead for
promises of an investigation by an independent panel
appointed by the United Nations. Given the level of public
support shown for this election, continuing to challenge
the results would have been risky, particularly if the
winning margin is large enough to dispel doubts about who
really won. 

The longer-term success of these elections will depend on
whether they confer the democratic legitimacy that
Afghanistan's next president needs to prevail over the
Taliban and assorted warlords without the indefinite
presence of American troops. The parliamentary elections
will be crucial because without a democratic mechanism for
brokering differences among the country's multiple ethnic,
language and religious groupings, there can be no
functioning national government. For these smaller-scale,
more localized contests, higher voting standards and
improved security are essential. 

The sight of those patient Afghans lined up to vote on
Saturday is another reminder that Afghanistan deserves more
help than it has gotten to rebuild after the devastations
of war and the Taliban. It needs the full concentration of
the United Nations and the United States to help it take
the additional difficult steps needed to make sure that the
brave hopes expressed on Saturday can be fulfilled and the
long-term future of constitutional government assured. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/12/opinion/12tue1.html?ex=1098605412&ei=1&en=a234bffd6a792f0d


---------------------------------

Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine
reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like!
Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy
now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here:

http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&ExternalMediaCode=W24AF



HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters 
or other creative advertising opportunities with The 
New York Times on the Web, please contact
onlinesales at nytimes.com or visit our online media 
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo

For general information about NYTimes.com, write to 
help at nytimes.com.  

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company


More information about the Mb-civic mailing list