[The violence on the opening day of Afghanistan’s presidential campaign underscored the confusion, uncertainty and danger overshadowing the election plans, even as peace talks between Taliban and U.S. officials continue. Eighteen candidates are registered for the Sept. 28 vote, but there are still widespread doubts over whether it should be held.]
By Pamela Constable and Sayed Salahuddin
 |
| President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the first day of his reelection campaign in Kabul. (Omar Sobhani/Reuters) |
KABUL
— Amid tight security and
raucous cheers, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani launched his reelection campaign
Sunday, telling several thousand supporters in a giant auditorium that he was
running for a second five-year term “to complete the unfinished project of
building a democratic state.”
But hours later, insurgents attacked the
Kabul office of Ghani’s top running mate, Amrullah Saleh, a former national
intelligence chief. Saleh, who had appeared at the rally, was lightly wounded
on one arm and treated. A spokesman for the Health Ministry said that two
people were killed and that 25 people were injured in the attack.
Security forces continued to battle the
attackers, who were armed with explosives and guns, into the evening. No group
immediately asserted responsibility for the assault on the headquarters of
Saleh’s Green Trend party, but the Taliban has often targeted intelligence
facilities and personnel.
The violence on the opening day of
Afghanistan’s presidential campaign underscored the confusion, uncertainty and
danger overshadowing the election plans, even as peace talks between Taliban
and U.S. officials continue. Eighteen candidates are registered for the Sept.
28 vote, but there are still widespread doubts over whether it should be held.
Many Afghans fear that threats and attacks by
the Taliban, which controls or contests nearly half of the country’s 400
districts, may fatally disrupt the polls. Many, including some presidential
candidates, also say reaching an accord with Taliban leaders is a much higher
priority, and an election campaign could undermine peace talks.
In an interview Saturday, Sohail Shaheen, the
Taliban spokesman in Qatar, where the peace talks with U.S. officials are being
held, said that the Afghan elections would “resolve nothing” and that they
could even prolong the conflict. He also said the insurgents will not stop
their attacks as the peace discussions advance and the Afghan election campaign
gets underway.
In a report released Sunday, the independent
Afghanistan Analysts Network noted that some experts believe a change of
government should not take place until the Taliban can participate, although
others argue that “sacrificing elections might mean they are never again held”
under Taliban control.
The network quotes an aide to one candidate
saying “We prefer to have peace first and then conduct elections in a peaceful
environment.”
U.S. officials, who have held seven rounds of
peace negotiations with Taliban leaders, are pressing for a partial peace
settlement by early September. But progress has been stymied by the Taliban’s
refusal to hold formal talks with Afghan officials or agree on a long-term
cease-fire. The insurgents seek a full withdrawal of U.S. troops and a dominant
future role in power.
On Sunday, one of Ghani’s top rivals, Afghan
Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, held a subdued campaign launch in a crowded
wedding hall in the capital. Abdullah, who was also Ghani’s top rival in the
2014 election and is his estranged governing partner, said he had “come from
the people” and would work to “take this broken ship to its desired
destination.”
Abdullah offered few policy ideas and
refrained from directly criticizing Ghani, with whom he has clashed often since
being persuaded by U.S. officials to share power after a disastrous election.
But a senior campaign adviser, former finance official Anwar Ahady, told the
crowd that Ghani had run the country through “micromanagement and monopoly of
power. That is what we will end if we win.”
Ghani, 70, said Sunday he is determined to
hold the election. He is considered the front-runner despite widespread public
discontent with the economy and the ongoing war. He has benefited from
divisions among his rivals as well as the advantages of incumbency.
Some critics have accused him of making
high-level job appointments to buy electoral support. He recently appointed a
new ambassador to India who is under investigation by the attorney general for
alleged corruption.
At the elaborately scripted rally, Ghani’s
clever sound bites, delivered in a raspy roar, were a departure from the former
World Bank official’s usual policy prescriptions. The audience loved the
performance, with many rising to their feet to shout encouragement.
“People say I am mad, but I am mad for
progress,” Ghani declared to cheers and laughter. He vowed to rid the country
of dependence on foreign charity. In a line referring indirectly to President
Trump’s recent claim that he could end the war in Afghanistan in 10 days with
massive bombing, Ghani vowed that “hundreds of bombs can’t destroy
Afghanistan.”
The one discordant moment came when a man
rose and shouted that Ghani was a “liar” who had cheated the public.
Plainclothes security personnel immediately grabbed the man and hustled him out
of the premises. They then appeared to demand that journalists erase footage of
the incident, provoking an altercation.
Other major candidates in the race include
Hanif Atmar, a former national security adviser to Ghani; Gulbuddin Hekmatyar,
a former fugitive militia leader who returned to Kabul in 2017 under a peace
deal; Rahmatullah Nabil, a former national intelligence chief; and Ahmad Wali
Massoud, a brother of the slain anti-Taliban leader Ahmad Shah Massoud.
No other candidates have held public rallies
yet, and analysts predict Taliban threats will make it difficult for all candidates
to campaign in much of the country. They worry that voter turnout will be
extremely low, jeopardizing credible results.
During parliamentary elections last fall,
violence was reported in many areas, and polls in two provinces were postponed.
Public enthusiasm for the presidential
election has been subdued, and partisan and personal bickering among Ghani’s
opponents have added to voter disillusionment. After Ghani’s rally ended and
delegates were pouring into the streets, a man behind the counter at a nearby
grocery store watched with a grim expression.
“There is only one thing that matters for
Afghans, and that is peace,” said the shopkeeper, who gave his name as
Neematullah. “Too many people are being killed every day.
“Elections will not help. None of these
candidates can bring peace, not Ghani or Abdullah. None of them.”
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