...Neither the Faryab nor Jalalabad attacks were explicitly aimed at election-related targets, but Ahmad Majidyar, a senior research associate at the American Enterprise Institute, said the recent violence is worrisome because even if the Taliban fail to prevent the election, fears over security could keep some Afghans at home and result in a skewed election tally. “It is worrying because the violence is much more than expected,” he said. “I don’t think the Taliban have the capability to disrupt the election completely, but if the level of violence continues to rise in the south and the east, then that could disenfranchise a lot of Pashtuns and undermine the legitimacy of the elections.”... The worst-case scenario, says American Enterprise Institute’s Majidyar, would be the successful assassination of a presidential candidate, which under Afghan law, could potentially delay the elections and throw the whole process into doubt. “I think there are many reasons for the surge in violence besides Taliban efforts to undermine confidence and distract from the campaigning,” he said. “But Taliban intimidation influenced turnout in 2010 and shaped the parliamentary elections. It could happen again.”
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 19:29:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015