Q: In your opinion, how were the September 18 Parliamentary elections?
A: The September 18 parliamentary elections were in many respects different from all previous elections, particularly the 2005 parliamentary elections. First, the turnout was very low, and if the fraudulent votes are separated from the real ones, the turnout will be less than 25 percent. Secondly, the fraud in these elections took place in an organized way.
Q: In your opinion, why was the turnout so low?
A: There were many reasons behind the lack of voter participation: first was security. People did not dare to vote. Unfortunately, the government forces and foreign troops stationed in Afghanistan could not provide security for the voters. The second reason was the widespread fraud perpetrated in the last elections, for president and provincial council.
People were thinking that it did not matter whether they voted or not -- the results were pre-determined. Such situations made people lose their faith in the transparency of the election process.
The third reason was the inability of the current Parliament to control the government; they were not able to monitor government activities.
In my opinion, all of these reasons made people less willing to participate in the elections.
Q: Based on the complaints the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) has received, some government officials as well as some candidates committed widespread fraud during the elections. As a candidate, are you satisfied with the ECC’s adjudication process?
A: The issues related to the Independent Election Commission (IEC), such as recounts, quarantining ballot boxes, and monitoring the IEC during the election process are satisfactory; but, we are waiting for the ECC to adjudicate the complaints after the declaration of the preliminary results.
The ECC has received more than 4000 complaints so far, and more than fifty percent of the complaints are in the first category, meaning they could affect the results if proven. So we will express our evaluation of the ECC’s activities after the preliminary results are declared.
Q: In your opinion, what impact will the adjudication of fraud have on people’s faith in the elections?
A: I think that the future of elections in Afghanistan depends on the activities of the IEC and the ECC. The level fraud would have declined if the relevant bodies had properly adjudicated the fraud in last year’s presidential and provincial council elections and brought the perpetrators to justice.
It would have affected the turnout in the Parliamentary elections and people would have believed in the value of their vote.
People will definitely lose faith in free and fair elections if election bodies do not adjudicate the complaints and declare results in line with the people’s votes.
We will never see a high turnout in any upcoming elections in Afghanistan if perpetrators of fraud are not punished. Instead, people will lose faith in the nature of elections and will pursue other approaches that will threaten the region and the international community.
Q: According to observers, the Afghan Parliament was extremely isolated, particularly in the last year. The important issue of negotiations with the Taliban was not shared with the Parliament. In your opinion, how will the next Parliament struggle with such challenges?
A: I think there was no cooperation between the government and the Parliament from the very beginning; visible and invisible conflicts were frequently going on between these two powers. In my opinion, the upcoming Parliament should play the role of observer of government activities, and the government should not ignore Parliament’s decisions. Afghanistan needs the cooperation of the three branches of government, rather than their mutual opposition.
