Afghan Elections, and the growth of the country.

Its been 13 year and there have been significant improvements, just thought I'd share this article from The Wall Steet Journal.

An
Election Watershed for Afghanistan



The Wall Street Journal: Opinion

James F. Dobbins

3 April 2014



Millions of Afghans will go to the polls on Saturday in a demonstration of
their commitment to preserve the gains made during the 13 years since the fall
of the Taliban. These advances have been truly remarkable. The size of the
Afghan economy has more than quadrupled, with GDP reaching $19.1 billion in
2011, up from $4 billion in 2002. Longevity has increased by 20 years to over
62 years in 2012 from 42 in 2002, an extraordinary improvement. Literacy has
more than doubled to nearly 30% in 2012 from 12% percent in 2003. With nearly a
third of all Afghans currently in school, including more than four million
girls, the literacy rate should double again in the coming years.



These gains have come about in no small part due to the sacrifices of U.S.
service personnel and civilians, working with our international and Afghan
partners.



Taliban terrorist attacks on campaign workers and offices, threats against
those who would exercise their democratic rights, and the execution of innocent
men, women and children make clear what is at stake. While the Taliban try to
make headlines with horrific acts of violence, even more notable is the
historic progress the Afghan people have made in building a democratic society
and institutions.



Candidates have debated the issues on live television, with citizens' Twitter
feeds providing a running commentary. Tens of thousands of ordinary Afghans
have stepped forward to serve as election monitors. Members of the Afghan
National Security Forces are risking their lives to provide security at polling
sites throughout the country. Violence has been on the rise in recent weeks, as
it is every spring in Afghanistan, and it may increase in the days ahead.
Notably, however, so far violence levels remain lower than they were last year,
and lower still than in 2009 during the last presidential election.



This is the first Afghan election under full Afghan control. It represents a
further milestone in the transition to comprehensive Afghan leadership as the
U.S. and its NATO allies continue their drawdowns of troops. The U.S. and other
donors are providing assistance, but the electoral institutions are being run
entirely by Afghans.



Similarly, Afghan military and police are fully in charge of election security;
in 2009 the U.S. and other NATO members provided the bulk of the security
force. It is a mark of how far Afghan institutions have come that this election
is now on track to be the first ever to take place on schedule.



The presidential campaign has been spirited and responsibly conducted. The
candidates put forward ethnically and regionally balanced slates and pitched
their appeals to a national constituency. In polls, a large majority of Afghans
say that they believe this election is important to their future. There has been
a recent surge in voter registration, with nearly 300,000 Afghans registering
in the last four weeks alone, waiting in long lines despite Taliban threats.
This brings total registration of new Afghan voters to over 3.8 million, in
addition to the estimated 11 million to 14 million previously registered.



Polls indicate that voter turnout will be high. Another indication of the
societal changes since 2000 is that, according to polling, a vast majority of
Afghans say that women should be able to vote, and millions of women intend to
do so.



As Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission tabulates the results and the
Independent Electoral Complaints Commission reviews any potential
irregularities, the rest of us will have to contain our eagerness for quick
results and give these institutions time to count votes—a labor-intensive
process, done by hand with multiple checks to ensure accuracy—and to
investigate instances of alleged fraud. This process will take several weeks.
It may be followed by a second round of balloting if no candidate receives an
absolute majority in the first.



Yet ultimately this election is a chance to usher in the first peaceful and
democratic transfer of power in Afghan history. It also is critical for the
domestic legitimacy of the government and the ability of the international
community to sustain its support.



The election commission and the complaints commission have taken on the
challenge of administering transparent, inclusive, credible elections under
difficult conditions. Those working for the electoral institutions do so at
great personal risk, as tragically demonstrated last week when a Taliban attack
on a regional election-commission office in Kabul left five dead.



Although the Taliban have threatened to derail this election, the Afghan
government, security forces, electoral officials—and, most important, the
Afghan people—are showing themselves determined not to let that happen. The
U.S. will stand with them on April 5, as they determine their country's future
course, and we will continue to stand with a sovereign and united Afghanistan.



Mr. Dobbins is the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.



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