Although nationwide participation in Saturday's historic elections surpassed most expectations, perhaps the most surprising success story of voter turnout was in southern Kandahar province, widely considered the birthplace of the Taliban.
Independent Election Commission (IEC) officials on Sunday said they were shocked by how many voters turned up at the polls in Kandahar, and according to security officials, there was not a single attack on any polling centers in the province.
During the 2009 presidential elections, there were over 30 bombings in Kandahar, and voter turnout was extremely low compared to the rest of the country.
Despite fears that violence might disrupt the election process on Saturday, in Kandahar, like most of the country, long lines of voters streamed outside polling centers from early morning to evening undisturbed.
"When I saw lots of people participate in the elections, I also wanted to participate, and this day was a victory for me," one Kandahar resident named Abdul Majid told TOLOnews.
Given that parts of Kandahar remain under militant control, some acknowledged that they could become targets for having voted. Participants dipped a finger in permanent ink when they voted in order to prevent them from voting more than once, but the inked finger could also give them away to local insurgents who in the lead up to Saturday said they would punish anyone who voted.
Nevertheless, many Afghans said they were unafraid of reprisal and expressed pride in their defiance of the Taliban. "Yesterday was a historic day, and I took part in it," Kandahar resident Bashir Ahmad said. "...I would be proud to die with a colored finger."
According to IEC representative in Kandahar, Abdul Hadi Dawari, the vote counting process in the province has already been completed and the ballots are now in the process of being transported from the districts to the provincial center, from where they will be taken to Kabul.
Kandahar was not the only Taliban stronghold where turnout was high on Saturday. In neighboring Helmand province, were some of the most extensive fighting over the past decade occurred, officials said voters turned out in droves despite the threat of violence.
"People's participation in the elections was broad," Helmand Governor Mohammad Naeem said. "Yesterday we visited Nawa district, which is a little insecure, but the people came with high-spirits."
IEC Chair Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani estimated in a press conference Saturday night that over seven million Afghans voted in the elections nationwide, with a 65 percent male and 35 percent female breakdown. If accurate, that estimate would mean participation in this year's elections was over twice that of the 2009 presidential election.
Source/Fuente: http://www.tolonews.com/elections2014/high-voter-turnout-insurgent-heart...
