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Between Co-operation and Insulation: Afghanistan’s Relations with the Central Asian Republics

The latest AAN report, “Between Co-operation and Insulation: Afghanistan’s Relations with the Central Asian Republics”, by Christian Bleuer and Said Reza Kazemi, looks at the state of Afghanistan’s relationships to the former Soviet republics of Central Asia to the north. The authors look at the multi- and bilateral cooperation on various levels and from both […]

27 Jun 2014 Christian Bleuer • S Reza Kazemi • Special Reports

Elections (34): The tug-of-war over the Hazara vote, round II

How did the large Afghan Hazara minority – that surprised everyone in the first round with its nearly unanimous backing for Dr Abdullah – vote in the second round of the presidential elections? Partial results from the Independent Election Commission (IEC) are not yet available, but in one of the key provinces for Hazaras, Bamyan, […]

26 Jun 2014 Qayoom Suroush • Political Landscape

Elections 2014 (33): ‘Amarkhel Gate’ – sheep, tape, resignation

The resignation of the head of the secretariat of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), Zia ul-Haq Amarkhel, may just have saved the election – if it brings Dr Abdullah back into the process. In support of his demand (one of several) for Amarkhel to go, Abdullah had ceased cooperating with the IEC and his supporters […]

24 Jun 2014 Kate Clark • Political Landscape

Elections 2014 (32): A second round surge in turnout in Loya Paktia?

The three provinces of Loya Paktia – Paktia, Khost and Paktika – have seen some of the worst fraud in Afghanistan’s previous elections, particularly the mass proxy use of women’s ballots, so it was understandable that reports of a high turnout in the second round there would be met with suspicion. However, those on the […]

20 Jun 2014 Kate Clark • Pakteen Ibrahimi • Political Landscape

Elections (31): Afghanistan’s confusing election maths

Only hours after polling centres had closed on the evening of the second round of voting in the Afghan presidential election, the country’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) was already giving the first turnout figures. They were high. Some media broadcast them without question; other outlets were more sceptical, citing anecdotal evidence suggesting turnout might actually […]

19 Jun 2014 Thomas Ruttig • Political Landscape

Elections 2014 (30): Some initial reflections on E-Day II

The counting of second round votes from the presidential elections is still under way in much of Afghanistan, although results are now trickling in from some polling stations. Meanwhile, everyone is trying to assess how well the second round went: the impact of security incidents, level of fraud and, especially importantly, how big the turnout […]

15 Jun 2014 Thomas Ruttig • Rights and Freedoms

Elections 2014 (29): The second round election day in snapshots from the provinces

How did the second round election day go? After our collection of voices from the provinces on the day before the vote (read here) as well as on the first round election day (see here), we continued to listen to our Afghan friends, analysts and acquaintances across the country. We asked them if they had been as eager to vote as […]

14 Jun 2014 AAN Team • Political Landscape

Elections (28): Last minute procedural changes to pacify candidate complaints

In the run-up to the second round vote, the Independent Election Commission (IEC), has made some changes to how it will run the vote this time. This has mainly been in response to complaints and pressure from the two remaining candidates. The IEC has increased the number of polling stations, has fired several thousand of […]

13 Jun 2014 Martine van Bijlert • Political Landscape

Elections 2014 (27): Snapshots from the provinces before the second round vote

How do Afghans feel about the second round of the presidential election ahead tomorrow, Saturday, 14 June? How do they perceive the security situation, the campaigning of the two contenders, the election authorities’ performance – and are they still as ready to go and cast a vote as many of them were in the first round? Like […]

13 Jun 2014 AAN Team • Political Landscape

Elections 2014 (26): The other possible vice president – Dr Abdullah’s running mate Muhammad Khan

Much has been written about Dr Ashraf Ghani’s choice of running mate, General Abdul Rashid Dostum – a ticket characterised as ‘technocrat plus warlord’ – but very little has been heard from or about the other man who might become Afghanistan’s next first vice president, Muhammad Khan. Apart from his being a senior Hezb-e Islami […]

12 Jun 2014 Kate Clark • Political Landscape