Warning: Politics...
I present here a summary of an editorial about the presidential elections in Afghanistan. I've removed the jingoistic Americanism stuff, leaving the relevant bits.
Trickling out of Afghanistan -- at a rate far too slow for cable television's instant experts -- is news of October's most important election: the presidential vote in Afghanistan. The election took place Oct. 9, but it took two weeks to count the votes. Ballot boxes from rural areas had to be carried by men and pack animals to central counting sites. The time lag frustrated the Western media's shortsighted demand for the quick gratification of headline success or failure.
Despite the spotty international media coverage, Afghanistan's election is extraordinarily significant news. It is significant for the people of Afghanistan...The 8 million Afghans who voted, despite terror threats from Al Qaeda and Taliban holdouts, rejected fear.
Rejecting fear is a defeat for terror. An international poll watcher reported that when the Taliban blew up a bridge north of one polling place, the Afghan voters forded the stream and kept coming. At Polling Center 217, the same poll watcher found a "veritable parade" of women in blue burkas waiting to vote (yes, in a predominantly Muslim country with no history of democracy, men and women voted). The Afghan people acted, ignoring death threats made by religious fascists, the destruction wrought by 30 years of war and the lack of "a modern transportation and communication infrastructure" (i.e., roads and telephones).
...
American voters take note. Ten million Afghans registered to vote; 8 million voting translates into a whopping 80 percent turnout in a nation where landmines and the Himalayas are real voting hazards. American voters moan about the hassle of waiting in line to cast a ballot.
Let the nuanced critics of elections and the usual naysayers who denigrate the global appeal of democracy bicker over details. Certainly ballot security in Afghanistan is a legitimate issue -- but the big picture is a loud shout for freedom. The Afghan people, in astounding numbers, went to the polls when they were given the opportunity -- the first time in history they had the chance.
With 96 percent of the votes tabulated, Afghanistan's Joint Electoral Management Body named President Hamid Karzai as the likely winner. Karzai received 55 percent of the vote (4.2 million votes). Former Education and Interior Minister Yunus Qanuni placed second with 16 percent (1.2 million votes).
Trickling out of Afghanistan -- at a rate far too slow for cable television's instant experts -- is news of October's most important election: the presidential vote in Afghanistan. The election took place Oct. 9, but it took two weeks to count the votes. Ballot boxes from rural areas had to be carried by men and pack animals to central counting sites. The time lag frustrated the Western media's shortsighted demand for the quick gratification of headline success or failure.
Despite the spotty international media coverage, Afghanistan's election is extraordinarily significant news. It is significant for the people of Afghanistan...The 8 million Afghans who voted, despite terror threats from Al Qaeda and Taliban holdouts, rejected fear.
Rejecting fear is a defeat for terror. An international poll watcher reported that when the Taliban blew up a bridge north of one polling place, the Afghan voters forded the stream and kept coming. At Polling Center 217, the same poll watcher found a "veritable parade" of women in blue burkas waiting to vote (yes, in a predominantly Muslim country with no history of democracy, men and women voted). The Afghan people acted, ignoring death threats made by religious fascists, the destruction wrought by 30 years of war and the lack of "a modern transportation and communication infrastructure" (i.e., roads and telephones).
...
American voters take note. Ten million Afghans registered to vote; 8 million voting translates into a whopping 80 percent turnout in a nation where landmines and the Himalayas are real voting hazards. American voters moan about the hassle of waiting in line to cast a ballot.
Let the nuanced critics of elections and the usual naysayers who denigrate the global appeal of democracy bicker over details. Certainly ballot security in Afghanistan is a legitimate issue -- but the big picture is a loud shout for freedom. The Afghan people, in astounding numbers, went to the polls when they were given the opportunity -- the first time in history they had the chance.
With 96 percent of the votes tabulated, Afghanistan's Joint Electoral Management Body named President Hamid Karzai as the likely winner. Karzai received 55 percent of the vote (4.2 million votes). Former Education and Interior Minister Yunus Qanuni placed second with 16 percent (1.2 million votes).