 Eleven people were killed in guerrilla clashes on the eve of todayâs elections in Afghanistan but UN organizers said they were confident voting could be held across the country in spite of Taleban threats. Enthusiasm among Afghans to vote in their first free legislative elections in more than 30 years has been high and the commander of US forces in the country predicted a record turnout of the 12.5 million registered to vote. Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry said Taleban insurgents would not hesitate to attack election workers or voters to try to disrupt the ballot, but they would not succeed. âTomorrow that election is going to go. There will be some violence, but itâs going to go,â he told Reuters in an interview.
| And that means the turbans are beat. They may oppose having elections, but they're much more capable of killing a dozen people than they are 12.5 million. But that's kind of the essence of democracy, isn't it? |
The top UN official in the country said the elections signaled the emergence of a new political culture and showed that war-torn Afghanistan could resist the rule of the gun. Jean Arnault, the UN secretary-generalâs special representative, condemned violence â in which seven candidates and six poll workers have died as well as many members of the security forces â but told a news conference the militants had failed to disrupt preparations. âWe are very confident that those extremists will also fail to disrupt and derail polling day tomorrow,â he said.
| Last time they barely even tried... |
The Taleban vowed, but failed, to disrupt last Octoberâs presidential election, won by US-backed candidate Hamid Karzai, when more than eight million people turned out to vote. The Taleban have called on Afghans to boycott todayâs poll for a national assembly and councils in 34 provinces, and warned they could be caught up in attacks on foreign troops. Overnight guerrilla attacks underlined the threat. Four policemen were killed and two wounded when guerrillas ambushed a police patrol south of Kabul,  while seven guerrillas were killed after they ambushed a police convoy in Zabul, a southern hotbed of militant activity, police said. One candidate from among more than 5,800 standing was killed this week and another wounded, but there has been no dramatic rise in violence in recent days. Security has been stepped up throughout the Muslim country with about 100,000 troops, including Eikenberryâs force of 20,000 and 10,000 NATO-led peacekeepers, guarding voters who will cast their ballots at 6,000 polling centers. |