Brussels, 06/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - Shortly before the first democratic elections with universal suffrage on 9 October, the EU's representative to Afghanistan, Francesc Vendrell, has said that he is surprised by how peaceable the country is. "Although we could have expected attacks by the Taliban and Al Qaeda, there has been virtually nothing", he told EUROPE. Over 9 million voters have registered, almost 40% of whom are women, and will have 18 candidates to choose from to be their new President. "The 25 experts sent by the EU are now deployed in all the regional capitals (Kandahar, Jalalabad, etc) to see the campaign through", confirmed Mr Vendrell, who will make recommendations on the capacity of the Afghan authorities to hold elections in accordance with viable procedures.
Since the attempts on the life of President Karzai and his Deputy, attacks by the Taliban have lessened and the candidates can feel free to campaign, even though it has not been "spectacular", said Mr Vendrell. He stated that in the north and the centre of the country, where FIAS troops are in position, it is going well, and "even in the south and south-east [regions covered by American troops], there have been no major problems". In these areas however, he added, the media exposure of all the candidates "is more of a problem" than in Kabul, where they have "enough time to express their views". He noted that "overall, some are complaining that Mr Karzai gets more media cover (…), but that is usually the case for a Head of State during a campaign".
Despite the appeal by several war lords, Mr Vendrell feels that an election boycott is unlikely. He believes that the fact that Yunus Qanooni and Mohammed Mohaqeq did not get behind Hamid Karzai's candidacy is a major reason for the credibility of the electoral process in the voters' eyes. If these two former ministers under Karzai, who are serious candidates in their own right, had supported him, there may have been a boycott, "but I do not think there will be", said Mr Vendrell.
In the longer term, he said: " we hope that the Americans and the Europeans will remain and keep the same number of forces, certainly for the difficult period of the presidential elections". The Afghans will be going to the polls again in April 2005, this time to choose between "more political parties, and during which the war lords may try for greater influence". Disarmament will therefore continue into the Spring, he said.