07/25/2004

Afghanistan's Elections

Published: July 25, 2004


To the Editor:

Ansar Rahel (Op-Ed, July 19) proposes that the presidential elections in Afghanistan, scheduled for Oct. 9, be delayed until people have more experience with legal processes and principles.

But the elections are necessary to solidify the democratic gains made since the fall of the Taliban. Potential voters we talked to recently around Bamiyan, the Shomali Plains and Kabul were enthusiastic, proudly showing us their registration cards and coyly declining to say whom they would vote for.

The danger is that deferring elections until the people are "ready" to vote may mean postponing elections forever.

The biggest problem with holding elections in October is that the Taliban and warlords will attempt to disrupt them. NATO and the American-led coalition need to make a strong commitment to ensure the security of the elections, or the elections - and democracy - will likely fail.

Larry Thompson
Scott Schirmer
Washington, July 19, 2004

The writers are, respectively, director of advocacy and director of development at Refugees International.