KABUL: After weeks of delays and violence, Afghanistan’s younger generation appears to have emerged victorious over traditionalists after winning a majority of seats across more than 20 provinces, ousting several staunch opponents of President Ashraf Ghani from the race in the process.
Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) revealed the preliminary results for October’s parliamentary elections, which were delayed for years due to the violence that has plagued the country for decades.
Delays in the ballots count were blamed on chaotic election mechanisms amid complaints of mismanagement.
The country has suffered dozens of attacks and fatalities at the hands of the Taliban over the weeks.
The October 20 election, crucial for Afghanistan’s stability as the US occupation enters its 18th year, was held ahead of a vital presidential ballot set for April 2019.
The United Nations declared the October election “the most violent and mismanaged compared with any ballot held since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.”
Abdul Aziz Ibrahimi, a spokesman for the IEC, told Arab News that tallies in 25 out of the 34 provinces have been counted, adding that the final count was delayed to ensure transparency and accuracy in rooting out “bogus votes.”
“Many of those who won the seats are youth,” he said. “There are former lawmakers among them as well.”
Another IEC official said the tally could continue changing until the final results are announced in a few weeks and that candidates that have lost can file an appeal against the preliminary results. Polls in the Ghanzi and Kandahar provinces could not be held because of poor security in the area. Votes for the Farah province allegedly perished on board the helicopter that crashed in October. The country’s electoral complaints body last week deemed the Kabul vote tally “invalid” amid allegations of fraud and mismanagement. Ibrahimi said the authority would, however, resume the counting process in the capital after it was paused for a week.
Fazl Manawi, a former IEC chief, accused the government of manipulating the vote count in order to facilitate an easier win for the country’s president.
“The government is trying to root out opponents,” he told Arab News.
A palace spokesman, however, denied the allegations. Several lawmakers said that staunch opponents of Ghani from various ethnic groups, who had stood for re-election, have been deliberately sabotaged.
“Many are beginning to doubt the IEC’s ability to hold the presidential poll in April,” said Manawi.
