AFGHANISTAN: Donkeys to carry ballot boxes remote Afghan polling stations as election preparations kick into high gear.

Record ID: 289278

  • Title: AFGHANISTAN: Donkeys to carry ballot boxes remote Afghan polling stations as election preparations kick into high gear.
  • Date: 17th August 2009
  • Summary: SPECIFICATIONS OF BALLOT BOX TRUCK CARRYING BOXES ON MOUNTAIN ROAD DONKEY BRAYING VARIOUS OF BALLOT BOXES BEING LOADED ONTO DONKEY (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) ELECTION OFFICIAL ABDUL JABBAR SAYING: "The reason why we are using donkeys is that in some areas there are no roads so we have to use the donkeys in order to deliver the equipment." VARIOUS OF DONKEYS WALKING ON NARROW
  • Embargoed: 1st September 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Afghanistan
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Topics: Domestic Politics,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAQUZNDT97PN9J8XJGL29CB6LI
  • Story Text: Afghanistan deploys a team of donkeys to carry ballot boxes to remote polling stations as presidential election preparations kick into high gear across the country.
    Holding elections in Afghanistan is not an easy task.
    Security is a big concern, but so is getting ballot boxes, papers and other equipment to the far corners of the country.
    Nearly 3,000 donkeys are being deployed into the craggy mountains in the country's northern Badakhsan province ahead of the August 20 vote.
    Election workers on Saturday (August 15) set off over the rocky paths with the first batch of election materials to the hillside polling stations.
    "The reason why we are using donkeys is that in some areas there are no roads so we have to use the donkeys in order to deliver the equipment," said election official Abdul Jabbar.
    Afghanistan's 17 million-odd eligible voters will cast their ballots in some 7,000 voting centres or 28,500 smaller voting stations across Afghanistan's 34 provinces and 356 districts.
    Many will be set up on mountainsides or by rivers in remote areas.
    Voter registration was conducted across Afghanistan late last year and early in 2009 except for five districts in Helmand in the volatile south.
    The 36 presidential candidates are approaching the final stretch in election campaigns. But in Badakhsan, the news of the elections has not filtered through to some areas.
    "I don't know what the election is about, I am not aware of it," said Khan Mohammad, an elderly resident of Sumdara village.
    In the town of Faizabad in Badakhshan province, Public Information Centre officials have been instructing women on the voting procedure.
    There are about five million registered voters. Some may go in person to polling stations. But in Afghanistan where many women do not go out of the house on their own, their husbands will cast their ballots on their behalf.
    But even among the women, the issue of security was a worry.
    "If the government provides enough security for the people we are happy to go and vote," said Shakela Jan, an instructor at the Public Information Center in Faizabad.
    The election is being staged against the backdrop of increased violence across the country after thousands of U.S. Marines and British troops launched major operations in southern Helmand province this month.
    Attempts have been made on the lives of two candidates, including Karzai's senior vice-presidential running mate.
    On Saturday a suicide bomber killed seven people and injured nearly a hundred others as he drove his car past roadblocks in front of the U.S. Embassy and the International Security Forces in Afghanistan office in Kabul.
    Local and international observers have warned that poor security and rampant corruption mean widespread voter fraud in either registration or the casting of ballots could be possible.
    On Sunday (August 16), election officials began preparing polling stations in the capital.
    "Today, we started transporting some election materials to polling stations, such as chairs, tables, material for booths to different districts in Kabul," said Kabul election official Anisa Jan.
    President Hamid Karzai, seeking re-election after winning Afghanistan's first direct elections in 2004, is a front-runner in a field of 35 challengers.
    But concerns of low voter turnout due to security issues and threats from the Taliban has muddied his prospects for a clear majority.
    International pollsters say a run-off is likely.
    END
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