Faked Political Theatre and not Election

The US and NATO watch in horror as their casualties sharply mount and they have nothing to show voters for the latest Afghan imperial misadventure but body bags and tantalizing mirages of Central Asia’s fabled oil and gas. 

This Thursday’s presidential election in Afghanistan is an elaborate piece of political theatre organised by the west, especially America and Great Britain to show its citizens who do not support the war in Afghanistan but yet are told by their government that progress is being made there. The citizens of the world especially the Afghans already know who will win the vote. The candidate chosen by the United States and its NATO allies is clear to Afghans but the west still treat Afghans as stupid and try to stage a political drama which is based on lies and deceit in the name of democratic election and human rights.

The fake election will mostly be held in urban area, under the guns of US and NATO troops. Even in the urban areas votes have been bought in advance by different candidates. In many public election rallies millions of dollars were distributed.

If one candidate gives $10,000, then the other gives $20,000 and a third one offers even more. It has become such a lucrative and competitive business. I don't know where they get their money from.

Government workers - supposed to be impartial but they have actively and illegally campaigned for candidates. There is evidence that some people working for candidates have deliberately tried to influence the outcome of the presidential election by offering bribe. The BBC reported that voting cards were being sold in the capital. An Afghan working for the BBC went undercover, posing as a potential buyer. He was offered 1,000 cards on the spot. Each one would cost about $10 (£6). We were given some samples as proof of what was being offered. They are all authentic with the name, photo and home details of the voter on them. This is just happening on a small scale and the bigger scale is not thinkable. Over half of Afghanistan is under the control of Taliban and other opposition groups by day and 75 percent by night. There is no doubt that the Afghans are voting this election but the big question is who will be counting the votes? The entire election and vote-counting election commission are financed and run by the US and UNAMA. Thousands of Afghan mercenaries hired by the US will police the polls and intimidate voters. The Afghan American poppet media are busy promoting the American candidates. Taliban and other resistant groups vow to fight the sham election, which it calls a tool of foreign occupation. Many other nationalist and tribal groups who are rightly fighting the illegal invasion are excluded but General Abdul Rashid Dustom who killed 3000 prisoner of war is allowed to return to Afghanistan and declare his support for Karzai. Also is allowed General Fahim who is the running mate of Hamid Karzai and whose hands are still wet with the blood of innocent Afghans. In fact, all parties are banned including Hezb-e-Islami, Taliban and the Haqani group but yet individuals are allowed to run. This is a favorite tactic of non-democratic regimes, particularly the US-backed dictatorships of the Arab world. President Hamid Karzai’s main opponent are Abdullah Abdullah, fronts for the Russian and Iranian-backed Tajik Northern Alliance. Technocrat Ashraf Gani is another supposedly leading candidate. Both men are expected to get high positions in any new government formed by Karzai. Their primary role is to give the impression of an electoral contest. 

The northern Tajiks and Uzbeks, traditional foes of the majority Pashtun, are in cahoots with Russia, Iran and India, all of whom have designs on Afghanistan. They continue to dominate Karzai’s faltering regime. The majority Pashtun are largely excluded from power. When the Soviets occupied Afghanistan from 1979-1989, they held fairer elections than the US-run votes. Of course, the Soviet’s man, Najibullah, won, but at least dissention was voiced. In Washington’s stage-managed Afghan votes, real opposition is excluded. The US used the same trick in Iraq’s rigged elections.

Much has gone wrong in Afghanistan. The insurgency is resilient, security has deteriorated, coalition casualties are rising, NATO's performance has disappointed, Afghan authorities are by turns incompetent and corrupt, the situation for women has worsened, poppy fields are in bloom. In the last week, Kabul has been struck by two car bombings, while mortar shells landed near Hamid Karzai's presidential palace.

Afghans do not want this election but the US, UNAMA and NATO want to hold it no matter what it costs. According to the Washington Post newspaper survey which revealed that more than 60 percent Afghans want reconciliation with resisting groups. According to the SKY TV news survey, more than 57 percent of the British population want their troops out of Afghanistan immediately. This election will cost more than $240 million but peaces will not come and many more innocent British soldiers will die and of course more defenceless Afghan will be killed too.

We do not need this political theatre and drama in the name of election and democracy. The people Afghanistan know you very well and you can not deceive them again and again. This is just a black spot in the name of democracy.

Mohammad N Asif

Chair, Scottish Afghan Society

Afghan Exile Journalist