• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Thursday, January 26, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

With Nearly All Data in, Afghan Turnout at Record Low

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
10/01/19
in Featured, World
A Kabul resident at a voter registration center

Afghan employees of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) register a resident at a voter registration center in Kabul on April 14, 2018. Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Voter participation in last weekend’s Afghan presidential election will be much less than a third, the country’s Independent Election Commission said Tuesday, marking a record-low turnout.

Afghans voted Saturday in the first round of a presidential race that will decide whether President Ashraf Ghani will win a second five-year term, fending off a challenge from his top rival, Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

The turnout is the lowest yet in Afghanistan’s presidential elections, as voters stayed away due to the threat of attacks, a muted election campaign and concerns over fraud.

With data collated from nearly all polling centers, around 2.59 million of Afghanistan’s 9.6 million voters turned out to cast a ballot, according to IEC commissioner Maulana Abdullah.

“This is not a final figure, it is going to change as we are still receiving more data,” Abdullah said.

The turnout – about 27 percent – represents a slight increase on initial figures, but still a historical low.

Offensive on Democracy 

Authorities heralded Saturday’s election as a success because the Taliban were unable to pull off a large-scale attack resulting in high casualty numbers, and there were fewer technical difficulties than some had feared.

But the insurgents nonetheless pushed their offensive on the democratic process, conducting a string of bombings at polling stations and engaging Afghan security forces in clashes across the country.

According to the Afghanistan Analysts Network, which recorded incidents through various sources, more than 400 attacks were reported over the course of the election day.

The official death toll is five security forces. But in years past, authorities have suppressed information on election day only to later give larger numbers.

Still, Shaharzad Akbar, who heads the Afghan government’s Independent Human Rights Commission, said she breathed “a sigh of relief” that the election had gone smoothly compared to previous years.

“The Afghan security forces really showed a real capability in managing the security situation across Afghanistan in ensuring people have access to polling centres,” she told AFP.

‘Much Cleaner’ 

It was unclear how many of the approximately 4,500 polling stations that received voters still had to transmit data, but the number appeared small.

Election officials have said the result would be the cleanest yet, with equipment such as biometric fingerprint readers and better training for poll workers ensuring the vote was fair.

Independent political analyst Haroun Mir said that even with a low turnout, the election could be considered a victory for the democratic process because it was “much cleaner” than previous polls.

On Monday, Abdullah claimed to have won the election, but observers dismissed his boast as premature.

Results are not expected until October 19. Candidates need more than 50 percent of the vote to be declared outright winner, or else the top two will head for a second round in November.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres commended “all Afghans who exercised their democratic voice,” and “congratulates them on their commitment to selecting their leaders through the ballot box.”

 


More on the Subject 

Peace for Afghanistan: How to Reintegrate Taliban Fighters?

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Taliban fighters
Featured

UN Expert Decries ‘Systematic’ Attacks on Afghan Shiites

by Staff Writer
September 12, 2022
Afghanistan
Middle East

Taliban Vows in Geneva Talks to Protect Aid Workers: NGO

by Staff Writer
February 11, 2022
Afghan women protest
Middle East

Afghan Women Protest Against Taliban Killings of Ex-Soldiers

by Staff Writer
December 28, 2021
Pro-abortion rights activists rally at the Texas State Capitol in Austin against SB8, September 11.
Featured

The Horrors of a Repressive Regime, American Style

by Stephen J. Lyons
October 26, 2021
A Taliban fighter walks past a beauty saloon with images of women defaced using a spray paint in Shar-e-Naw in Kabul on August 18, 2021
Featured

Abandoning Afghanistan Is Simply Unacceptable

by Samira Hamidi
September 20, 2021
Afghan heritage
Featured

Taliban Takeover Sparks Fear for Afghanistan’s Heritage

by Staff Writer
September 10, 2021
Next Post
Protesters in masks and goggles chant slogans outside the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on June 12

Hong Kong Defies China Anniversary With 'Day of Grief' Rallies and Clashes

US President Donald Trump

Trump's Impeachment: Everything You Need to Know About What Comes Next

Recommended

The Doomsday Clock reads 100 seconds to midnight, a decision made by The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, during an announcement at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on January 23, 2020

‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closest Ever to Midnight

January 25, 2023
Police work near the scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California

California Lunar New Year Mass Shooter Dead, Motive Unclear: Police

January 23, 2023
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

Race on To Replace Ardern as New Zealand Prime Minister

January 20, 2023
Pfizer logo and vaccines

Pfizer to Sell More Drugs at Cost to Poor Nations

January 18, 2023
Rescuers inspect the wreckage at the site of a Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara, Nepal

At Least 67 Killed in Nepal Plane Crash

January 16, 2023
George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023

Opinion

George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Commuters waiting for buses in Metro Manila. Philippines

Eight Billion and Counting…

November 29, 2022
Mahsa Amini protests

Imagining a Free Iran

October 24, 2022
Vladimir Putin

How 18th Century International Law Clarifies the Situation in Ukraine

September 29, 2022
Vladimir Putin

Falling for Putin

September 15, 2022
US President Donald Trump

Donald Trump Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

August 17, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post