Rocket strikes Kabul as Afghans prepare to vote

September 18, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan

The Taliban have written threats on leaflets passed out at mosques, whispered them in villages, proclaimed them to journalists and posted on the Internet: If you vote in today’s parliamentary elections, prepare to be attacked.

How many Afghans ignore this intimidation campaign and turn out at the polls will be one measure of whether the vote is considered a success.

The elections — the first since a fraud-ridden presidential poll a year ago — are seen both as a test of the Afghan government’s commitment to rooting out corruption and as a measure of the strength of the insurgency.

Hanging in the balance is the willingness of the U.S.-led international coalition to continue supporting Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government with 140,000 troops and billions of dollars nearly nine years into the war.

On the eve of the balloting, the head of a voting center in southern Helmand province was killed when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb — a reminder that the insurgent group usually makes good on its threats. At least 24 people have been killed in election-related violence in the run-up to the vote, including four candidates, according to observers.

In the past two days, Taliban militants abducted 18 election workers from a house in northern Bagdhis province, and a candidate was kidnapped in eastern Laghman province. Coalition forces also detained an insurgent in eastern Khost province who was “actively” planning attacks during the elections, NATO said.

About 2,500 candidates are vying for 249 parliamentary seats, allocated among the 34 provinces according to population. A quarter of the legislative seats are reserved for women. Final results aren’t expected for weeks.

The Afghan government has installed extra checkpoints throughout the country and dispatched about 280,000 security forces to help secure polling stations.

Afghan security forces patrolled the mountains and hills that encircle Kabul on Friday to prevent insurgents from setting up rocket-firing points, Deputy Police Chief Khalilullah Dastyar said. Police used bomb-sniffing dogs while searching every car heading along main roads into the city.

In volatile Kunar province in the northeast, police said they were unable to deploy soldiers to remote areas but set up checkpoints on roads into the provincial capital. Police were stopping vehicles and questioning anyone wearing a burqa — the full-body robe often worn by Afghan women in conservative areas. Insurgents previously have hidden under burqas to pass checkpoints.

Those who vote will be easy to identify — marked by a fingertip covered with the indelible ink used as an anti-fraud measure that stains the skin for at least 72 hours.

Even in some of the most violent areas, however, some Afghans said fear would not stop them from voting.