Pubdate: Tue, 20 Sep 2005
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2005 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.mercurynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Daniel Cooney, Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/women.htm (Women)

VOTING HAILED, BUT AFGHANISTAN PROBLEMS REMAIN

 From women in burqas in former Taliban strongholds to impoverished desert 
nomads, Afghans embraced the chance to vote in the final formal step toward 
democracy. But the country still faces a myriad of threats, from a 
reinvigorated insurgency to rampant drug production and power-hungry warlords.

Turnout for Sunday's legislative elections was lower than many hoped, 
taking a little of the luster off the historic day. Still, the rebels' 
failure to make good on threats to subvert the vote was a major boost to 
efforts to bring peace nearly four years after U.S.-led forces drove the 
Taliban from power.

"For the millions of Afghans who turned out to vote, this was a significant 
. . . advance on the road to democracy," U.S. Ambassador Ronald Neumann 
told reporters in Kabul. "Four years ago, the Taliban were here and women 
were being stoned to death . . . and now you have women running polling 
centers and women voting."

He cautioned that the vote should not be seen as a signal that the United 
States and other countries can turn their back on Afghanistan and start to 
send home the 20,000 soldiers in the American-led coalition and 11,000 NATO 
peacekeepers.

"The international community is going to have to stay involved for a long 
time," Neumann said.

Washington and other governments have spent billions of dollars to foster a 
civic system after a quarter-century of conflict to ensure Afghanistan is 
never again a staging post for Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.

But a wave of insurgent attacks that has killed more than 1,200 people in 
the six months leading up to the ballot underlines the threat that remains.

Although the Taliban failed to do anything spectacular to disrupt voting, 
there are no signs that its rebellion is waning. Many people had hoped that 
a massive voter turnout would marginalize the insurgents by demonstrating 
public support for an elected government.

Security fears have been further inflamed by the refusal of some warlords 
responsible for much of the bloodshed during the 1990s civil war to 
demobilize their militias and disarm. A few of these regional warlords were 
permitted to run in the elections.

A booming business in growing opium poppies is seen as a major threat. 
Afghanistan produces 87 percent of the world's supply, sparking warnings 
that it could become a "narco-state."

Fighting near-universal poverty is another urgent challenge. Frustrations 
have grown over the pace of reconstruction, with many regions still lacking 
roads, schools and clinics.

Chief electoral officer Peter Erben said reports from about one-third of 
the polling stations suggested about 6 million people cast ballots, about 
50 percent of those who registered.

The figure is significantly lower than the 70 percent recorded when Hamid 
Karzai won a euphoric presidential election last October.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman