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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| A Chance for Afghans to Test the Magic Key |
| 2004-10-08 |
| During the past year or so a new word has entered the popular vocabulary in Afghanistan. It is "intikhabat" (elections) and one of the select groups of words shared by Afghanistan's two major languages, Persian and Pashto. Many Afghans admit that they do not know quite what it means, but almost all believe that "intikhabat" is a magic key to a better future. Tomorrow over 10 million Afghans, men and women, who have registered to vote will have a chance to test the magic key by going to the polls. At stake is the post of the president of the republic which, in Afghanistan's recently ratified new constitution, wields great executive power. Just a couple of years ago the suggestion that Afghanistan might one day hold elections would have sounded fanciful. The Taleban, representing one of the most vicious forms of religious fascism, regarded any participation by the people in decision-making as "un-Islamic". All power belonged to Mulla Muhammad Omar, the self-styled Emir Al-Momeneen (Commander of the Faithful) who claimed infallibility. Matters got worse when Osama Bin Laden, the now fugitive terrorist mastermind, soft-soaped the one-eyed Mulla into fancying himself as a caliph for all Muslims. |
| Posted by:tipper |