Sylvia's Journal

Everything is about expectations. When people are upset with one another it is almost always because expectations weren’t met. It plays out at the couple level (wife upset because she expected husband to take the garbage out), at the team level (team didn’t complete expected work as per specifications), organizational level (bank didn’t honor clients withdrawal requests) and country level (we gave you all this money and we expected you to manage it as if it was your own!).

But sometimes when expectations aren’t met there is relief, as was the case with the Afghan parliamentary elections. There were expectations of major fraud, widespread violence, so much even that the UN evacuated much of its staff. And then, when there were no major bombardments, rocket attacks, kidnappings, election workers going postal and such, everyone applauded how the Afghan government (with help) had managed this.

But wait a minute. According to the Afghanistan Times of today, the Free & Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) reported 276 incidents in and around voting places by the Taliban in all but 2 provinces; 157 serious acts of violence by the power brokers and their supporters in all but 6 provinces and 300 instances of intimidation and coercion of voters, candidates’ agents and observers by local power brokers. This is what some 7000 FEFA volunteers, observing about 60% of all the polling places, reported.

They also recorded plenty of instances of blatant or not so blatant voting fraud like fake voting registration cards, underage voters, men voting for their wives – although I imagine that many (men) may not consider this fraud –, voting materials missing, polling centers opening too late and delays in counting votes.

If you expect widespread violence and major fraud and you get this, I suppose it is a reason for relief, though not for celebration, as some think. There is still much that can go wrong, especially when the results are being reported and some people don’t like what they see.

The mayor of Kabul has ordered all candidates to remove their posters, from the gigantic 6 by 4 meter ones that practically obstruct the mountains around Kabul to the small handbills pasted on anything within view of the voting public. Kabul’s mayor means business. Apparently there is a fine if you don’t do this.

The rented spaces are already empty, I suppose the rental agreement ran out on the 20th, but many large posters still grace the large poppy mansions, hanging from balconies and covering the high walls surrounding them. There is something narcissistic about not taking those down – some people may love to keep seeing themselves as savior. I suspect some may be around until the weather does them in.

For us, life is back to normal – the holidays are over, the tension leading up to the elections is gone and we are (still) a little blue after the wedding.