Teaching Afghans about democracy is an uphill battle

MARGAREEN, Afghanistan -- Abdul Razaq stands among the menfolk of this dusty village of Afghan nomads and rejoices that democracy has at last come to his country after more than two decades of warfare.

"It means I can finally cast my ballot for Hamid Karzai," the Kuchi tribesman said Saturday, echoing the words of some 300 other men gathered to learn from U.N. education officers how to take part in the Oct. 9 vote. "Karzai is our leader. Karzai is our king," Razaq and the others repeated.

Each man in this poor village just outside the capital, Kabul, says he will vote for Karzai, the interim president and a fellow Pashtun, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group. They say their elders have told them Karzai is the best choice, and they see no reason to question that.

Karzai is the overwhelming favorite to win the vote against 17 challengers, though opponents have complained that Karzai enjoys unfair advantages. The president has the power of incumbency, moves in a U.S. security bubble and is widely perceived to be the favorite of the international community, especially Washington.

There is certainly no lack of enthusiasm among many Afghans as their nation prepares for its first-ever direct vote for president. But there is still little understanding in this tribal society of either the mechanics of voting, or the concept that each vote is an individual decision.

Which is why the electoral campaign so far has borne such little resemblance to a Western-style vote. There have been only a handful of rallies and debates and few campaign promises. Instead, candidates have spent most of their time meeting behind the high-walled compounds of Kabul's political elite with tribal elders who can deliver a guarantee of hundreds of votes.

"It's a bit unrealistic of us to think that it would be like a Western campaign given that they've had no experience like this before," said Grant Kippen, the country director for the National Democratic Institute. "The campaign is actually happening at a tribal level where tribal elders are coming in and interacting with the candidates."

A traveling theater group was dispatched to perform an election morality tale to clarify the rules, but the finer points may be lost on a citizenry accustomed to little but war and warlords.

Meanwhile, the 18,000-strong U.S.-led military coalition is working to make sure the historic election takes place.

Afghan intelligence agents backed by international peacekeepers arrested 25 people allegedly linked to the Taliban and al-Qaida in an early morning raid in eastern Kabul Saturday, a spokesman for the peacekeepers said.

Lt. Cmdr. Ken MacKillop said the raid took place between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. in the Policharki district of the capital. He gave no details about what the men were allegedly plotting.

"We are getting to a more dangerous time," said coalition spokesman Maj. Scott Nelson. "As we get closer to the election we expect to see more activity."

Election organizers are also concerned violence by Taliban-led rebels in Afghanistan opposed to the poll could spill over the border to Pakistan.

Inside Afghanistan, 10.6 million people registered to vote, more than 40 percent of them women.