Tribal elders from eastern provinces of Afghanistan held a meeting in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, discuss their concerns with the security situation in their region and strategies for encouraging voter participation in the lead-up to next spring's elections.
The meeting comes at time when many have expressed anxieties over security threats that have caused problems for the voter registration process. Despite assurances from security officials that the issues will be resolved ahead of the April 5, 2014 election date, with the Independent Election Commissions (IEC) still unable to open up registration offices in a number of districts across the country safety concerns and fears of low turnout persist.
At the meeting, the elders urged the provincial and central governments and the relevant security institutions to ramp up their efforts to secure and stabilize areas of the eastern region ahead of the Presidential and Provincial elections next spring.
One of the focuses of the meeting was discussion of how best to promote the elections within the elders' communities and fuel participation.
"We want to awaken the people and rally them together so that they participate in the upcoming elections in and elect a honest patriot and a true Muslim as the next leader of the country," said one tribal elder who participated in the meeting.
However, the level of participation in the election is largely contingent on how successful the voter registration process is. The registration process began on May 26 and is set to last until September 26. According to the IEC's most recent numbers, around 627,000 people have received voter cards. Nevertheless, registration offices in 10 districts remain unopened due to security threats, and the IEC aside has admitted that female registration numbers have fallen below their goal so far.
"Participation of people in the elections supports the legitimacy of the polling," said Faridoon Mohmand, an MP from Nangarhar. "The government and other institutions working in this sphere should ensure greater participation in the elections."
Some of the conversation about voter mobilization, however, at times took on more of a political tone, hinting at attempts to coordinate amongst the community leaders to have their constituent residents not just participate in the elections, but also vote in favor of a certain candidate.
"We should consult with each other about the elections and work to elect a candidate who is able to rid Afghanistan of the ongoing crisis and its various problems," said Hazrat Ali, an MP from Nangarhar.
The gathering was organized by the participating tribal elders with the help of representatives of the National Council from Nangarhar, Laghman and Nuristan provinces.
The elections are fast approaching, political parties and coalitions are beginning to prepare and talk nominations, but still there are several challenges that must be resolved if things are to go smoothly. Among them, aside from major security concerns, are the lack of a sufficient monitoring system for campaigns, the regulations on candidate campaign expenditures and the nominations of Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) members.