FAIZABAD, Afghanistan — In this remote corner of northern Afghanistan, distances are measured in days. The only paved road lasts for less than a mile, and travel often takes place on the back of a donkey.
Apply those qualities to an area the size of South Carolina, add in the topography of Colorado, and you get an election official’s nightmare, which is about how Sayed Masood saw it on Sunday, as he frantically prepared for the presidential election runoff on Nov. 7.
“There is very little time,” said Mr. Masood, the top election official in Badakhshan Province. “I have to hire 130 district coordinators by tomorrow.”
Thank you Sabrina Tavernise of the NY Times. This is a great piece! And a great example of how unnatural this whole election process has been/will continue to be to tribal, rural Afghanistan. Think this will also make statecraft/counterinsurgency a little tougher than Iraq? I do. Along with the tribal structure, as well.
2 comments:
Statecraft -- seems impossible in these circumstances. Plus, how can there be an election pulled off so quickly? And, if not now, the snows will begin to fall. If an election is not possible - will there be a coalition government?
Well to be exact, it is not an election. Rather it is a runoff. This means at least in theory that all the same methods will be used as in the first election. The problem, however, is how do you mobilize the country so fast to ready itself when votes are being taken via donkey? How do you make sure that Karzi does not rig the election again? (Sorry to answer a question with a questions.)
I don't think anyone is really calling for a coalition government. That seems like too weak for what the US and NATO. But then again, the end game in Afghanistan is a limited yet credible central government in Kabul that has regional "friends" ie warlords who can maintain some sort of security that is not the Taliban.
How this will work? I am ignorant.
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