Rockets, attacks strike as Afghan poll opens

A string of attacks hit Afghanistan’s parliamentary election today, killing at least 10 people as the Taliban tried to disrupt a poll that is testing the credibility of the government and security forces.

Voters appeared hesitant to go to polling stations after a series of rocket strikes in provincial centres across the country, including one which landed near the US embassy and the headquarters of Nato-led forces in central Kabul about three hours before polls opened at 7am (0230 GMT).

Officials reported violence across the country. In the worst attack, police said the Taliban killed one Afghan soldier and six pro-government militiamen in a raid on a security outpost next to a polling station in northern Baghlan province.

Afghan policewomen search women at a polling station in Herat, western Afghanistan today, September 18, 2010.

Significant security failures would be a major setback, with Washington watching closely before US President Barack Obama conducts a war strategy review in December likely to examine the pace and scale of US troop withdrawals.

A poll flawed by violence and fraud would also weigh on Obama when his administration faces mid-term Congressional elections in November amid sagging public support for the war, with violence at its worst levels since the Taliban were ousted in 2001.

Today’s election followed a similar pattern to last year’s flawed 2009, which the Taliban also threatened but failed to disrupt significantly despite scores of attacks.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) said 8 percent of the 5,816 polling centres had either not opened or not reported in, mainly because of security fears, IEC chairman Fazl Ahmad Manawi told a news conference. It had already decided not to open another 1,019 sites in light of a Taliban vow to disrupt voting.

The attacks, and the number of polling stations that remained closed, raised fears about low voter turnout that could affect the outcome and credibility of the vote.

“As in every election, we do hope that there will be a high voter turnout and that nobody will be deterred by security incidents,” President Hamid Karzai told reporters after voting at a high school near the presidential palace in Kabul.

Rocket strikes in northern Takhar province and eastern Kunar killed three and wounded nine, officials said. Two Afghan election observers were wounded by an explosion inside a polling centre in eastern Khost province, a Taliban stronghold near the Pakistan border, local police chief Abdul Haqim Eshaqzai said.

Similar attacks on polling stations and government buildings were reported in Badakhshan and Kunduz in the north, Jalalabad in the east and Herat in the west.

“People are in their homes and they want to see the security situation. They will come out later and vote,” Mohammad Omar, governor of Kunduz province, told Reuters.

Four polling centres were closed after Taliban assaults in Logar, south of Kabul, and many stayed home after the Taliban threatened to cut off the ink-stained fingers of those who voted.

“I don’t want to go and vote because of the Taliban’s intimidation. I don’t want to risk my life, just for a candidate,” said a Logar resident named Naveed.

Others defied the Taliban’s threats.

“This is for Afghanistan’s future,” said student Sohail Bayat after casting his vote in Kabul. “People don’t want the Taliban back, so every Afghan needs to go out and vote.”

Corruption and fraud are also serious concerns after a deeply flawed presidential ballot last year when a third of Karzai’s votes were thrown out as fake. Even though he is not standing, today’s vote is seen as a test his credibility.

Washington believes graft weakens the central government and its ability to build up institutions like the Afghan security forces, which in turn determines when troops will leave. Obama has pledged to start drawing down US forces from July 2011.

Election watchdogs reported thousands of fake voter registration cards across Afghanistan before the poll, although the IEC maintains it has put measures in place to guard against major fraud.

It will not be clear for several weeks who among the almost 2,500 candidates have won the 249 seats in the wolesi jirga, or lower house of parliament. Early results will not be known until at least Oct. 8, with final results not due before October 30.

Election observers expect thousands of complaints from losing candidates, with Afghanistan’s own poll watchdog expecting a “disputatious” election, which could delay the process further.

Almost 300,000 Afghan soldiers and police are providing security for the poll, backed up by some 150,000 foreign troops, but that was not enough to convince some disillusioned Afghans.

“I’m not voting. I’m more interested in finding a job. My family doesn’t have anything to eat,” said Faqir Jan, an unemployed Kabul man. “If I saw an honest man, I’d vote for him.”