Now that polls have closed Afghanistan, the task of counting ballots, disseminating accounts of fraud must now decide which of the more than 2,500 candidates vying for the 249 seats will sneak their way in. Most likely, weeks will be absorbed trying to sort through accounts of fraud and deciding which votes to validate and which to throw out. Pessimistically, the fraud that is eventually addressed may only be a small minority of all that occurred as Afghans tried to make their voices heard.

Threats of violence greatly hindered access to polling stations, willingness of Afghans to vote, and the ability of independent election observers to report on polling conditions. Even before election day, about 1,000 polling stations closed because the safety of those operating them could not be obtained the New York Times reported. The Taliban did everything in its power to dissuade Afghans from voting. At least 10 people were killed through these attacks. Not only did the Taliban throw grenades and assault voters with gunfire, but also made clear a threat to amputate the fingers, ears, and noses of those who were bold enough to vote.

This threat of violence kept many off the streets. An estimated 3.6 million votes were cast, 1 million shy of the results from last year's presidential election. Only half as many international observers maintained a presence of in the country compared to the year before. Again, due to the threat of violence, these observers were confined to polling stations in province capitols.

Even given the small number of international observers, reports of fraud were abundant. There were cases in which polling stations locked their doors for hours well ballots were uniformly filled out and boxes were stuffed. Many voters reported to the permanent ink coating the index finger after one has cast a ballot easily washed off, paving the way for repeat voting. Some areas reported that no ballot, pens, or ink even showed up at their stations, despite the fact that they were open. In 2009 a fourth of the ballots were thrown out due to complaints of fraud. However, it's still too early to say really how deeply widespread the fraud this go around is.



Staffon de Mistura, a UN special Afghanistan Representative was quoted in the New York Times as saying, "There's not, so far, a clear indication of massive or systematic fraud, but there will very likely be quite a few cases of retail fraud combined with irregularities." However, these seemingly small cases of fraud can have significant effect on the results of a parliamentary election. Provinces are allotted seats based on their approximated populations (an actual census hasn't been taken in decades). Therefore, the top number of vote getters in the province win the seats. Voting gaps between the top candidate and the lesser candidates may be large, however farther down where candidates are really competing for the last couple of spots, a few votes can make a large difference.

It seems apparent that Afghan voters lack confidence in their political system. Such frequent accounts of fraud and threats of violence undermine the legitimacy of the eventual parliament. For any government to truly reflect the interests of the people and command authority they must be chosen by the people. This sentiment is little reflected in Afghan opinion. Until this is rectified, little can be done to codify a stable government.

Yet, there are small signs of hope. Sangar Rahimi reports that at the very least urban candidates are campaigning on platforms of social justice, jobs, women's rights, and equality. There is no indication that the candidates themselves actually hold such sentiments or will do anything to advance them, however if the job of a candidate's campaign is to tell people what they want to hear, then at least this reflection of public opinion gives a little light to where Afghans want their country to go.

-Maeve Dwyer