Letter to the London Times newspaper, published Aug. 20, 2009
The success of the Nato-led intervention in Afghanistan hangs in the balance in the elections that begin today. Without a new government committed to restoring the State’s sovereignty and working with the international community to stabilise the country, the insurgency will spiral [...]
One candidate, Ashraf Ghani, has run a genuine, issue-based campaign, lifting the level of debate even as his own chances of success have shrunk. And those who know the country believe that there exists all across Afghanistan, and not just in Kabul, an emerging middle class, which is young, modern-minded, enthusiastic, hard-working and ready to cross the ethnic barriers which would hamper political life even if there were no such thing as the Taliban and no such problem as the insurgency.
“We are in the heartland of the Taliban,” Mr Ghani declares as his helicopter touches down in Qalat, the capital of the province near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. “You know the governor here was unable to leave his compound for a year.”
The hundreds of men sitting in the mosque were mostly subdued, watching more with interest than passion as Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani spoke of a corruption-free future… “This group was 60 percent Taliban,” Ghani said after the Friday gathering in this town in Zabul province, a center of the Taliban insurgency consuming Afghanistan’s south. To Ghani, his ability to appear unscathed in Qalat was a sign that his policy-focused platform, with its emphasis on ridding Afghanistan’s government of its endemic corruption, appeals to all segments of society.
The research by the Media Monitoring Project Afghanistan, to be released on Sunday, will strengthen claims by rival candidates that Mr Karzai has marshalled state resources to promote his own campaign. Some say this has extended from manipulation of the media to resources, like military helicopters and police protection, to restrict them from campaigning across the country.
…in recent weeks, the relentlessly pragmatic Ghani has steadily gained ground, according to private polls conducted by nonpartisan groups. … Whoever joins Karzai in the second round will largely be the choice of the youth vote. For AYNSO, that individual is Ghani, whose platform includes government hiring based on merit, job creation through financial incentives and the modernizing of school curriculums to help bring the country into the 21st century. “Lots of candidates promise that they support the youth, but with Ghani, he says how he will do it,” says Popal.
A former finance minister with a background in American academia and at the World Bank, Mr. Ghani, 60, says he is trying to change politics in Afghanistan. Using television and radio, Internet donations and student volunteers, as well as traditional networks like religious councils, he is seeking to reach out to young people, women and the poor, and do the unexpected: defeat President Hamid Karzai.
In a scathing attack on the international community days ahead of the poll, the former finance minister and World Bank official said there was little to show for the $1bn (€699m, £602m) set aside for safeguarding the election. UN agencies were “asleep at the wheel”.
Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, yet it is rich in resources and potential. The upcoming elections are an opportunity for Afghans to elect a government that is committed to economic growth for all, and to replacing the current predatory regime where wealth accrues to a few corrupt cronies.
Ashraf Ghani’s vision impresses, but most of electorate can’t read, let alone crunch numbers
