Afghan refugees in Pakistan have spoken out to encourage their countrymen to vote in this year’s presidential runoff. Denied the right to participate themselves, the refugees also made appeals to the candidates for support in protecting their rights abroad and paving the way for repatriation.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) early on indicated Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran, the nation’s with the largest refugee communities, would likely be able to vote in this year’s presidential election. However, soon thereafter, officials claimed there was insufficient funding to facilitate a voting process for the millions of refugees.
With the runoff just a day away, refugees in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan decided to weigh in on the process in spite of their disenfranchisement. They urged their countrymen to go to the polls on Saturday and vote for the candidate who would best serve the interests of the nation, and help bring refugees home.
“I want all my brothers and sisters in Afghanistan to go and vote for their favorite candidate,” an Afghan refugee in Pakistan named Abad told TOLOnews.
“Afghanistan needs a president who can serve the nation, end the conflict and gain people’s support,” Hekmatullah, another Afghan refugee in Pakistan, added.
Many refugees were very clearly invested in the election process and following it closely. They said the success of the election would be in the hands of voters, the electoral institutions and the candidates.
“When the results of the election are announced, both candidates must accept them, they must not cause chaos, taking the country towards crisis,” an Afghan refugee named Manan said.
Ultimately, the refugees were concerned with what either an Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai or Abdullah Abdullah presidency might mean for them.
“Our request is that the new government maintain security so we can return to our country, have the same work and life we do here in our own country,” another refugee named Zafar Khan said.
Afghanistan is the largest refugee producing country in the world, after decades of violent conflict and ethnic strife caused millions to flee, primarily to neighboring Pakistan and Iran. Pakistan is home to roughly 1.6 million Afghan refugees, according to the United Nations High Council on Refugees (UNHCR), but there is estimated to be over one million more living there illegally.
Source/Fuente: http://www.tolonews.com/elections2014/afghan-refugees-pakistan-push-part...
