ree and fair elections are the foundation of democracy. Elections are, at their most basic level, an important instrument for a government to hold itself accountable to its people. Following the ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001, Afghanistan’s first-ever Presidential election was held in October 2004. Afghans went to the polls for the first time in their history, positioning Afghanistan’s path towards a democratic country.
When many Afghans were unsatisfied with poor governance, elections, if seen as reasonably free and fair, would have reaffirmed that the people had had a say in the future of their country. From September 2005 to October 2018, Afghanistan held three parliamentary elections. All were alleged to be fraudulent. The 2005 elections were subject to fraud allegations and lengthy delays, with results not announced until November. In 2010, many candidates called for a suspension of the election due to claims of fraud and election rigging, leading to numerous interruptions in announcing the results. In the 2018 election, despite making some positive steps, such as preparing voter lists and using biometric identification, the Afghan government and elections commission were again unable to deliver a fair and transparent process.
All of Afghanistan’s presidential elections – 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 – faced similar problems. Despite security threats, millions of Afghans voted in the 2009 election, demonstrating their commitment to a democratic process in the face of the ongoing conflict. However, as the process continued, widespread fraud became apparent. The process’ integrity was harmed, as the election was conducted without a consolidated and accurate voter registration. Neither leading candidate – incumbent president Hamid Karzai nor Abdullah Abdullah – obtained the 50% support required to win in the first round. Abdullah withdrew in the second round as his request for the electoral commission to guarantee transparent elections was not met.
The 2014 presidential election was held in April, with a second round held in June. According to opinion polls, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani were the front-runners, and the first round election results showed Abdullah leading and Ghani behind him. However, since neither candidate could secure a majority, the election went into a runoff. The runoff became controversial due to, once again, widespread election fraud. Then–U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry mediated talks between the two candidates, resulting in a power-sharing agreement. Abdullah compromised and settled for the position of Chief Executive and Ghani became president.
The fourth presidential election in Afghanistan’s history was held in September 2019 with only 1.82 million votes cast, compared to the 2004 presidential elections where more than 8 million votes were cast. It was the lowest turnout since the Taliban were ousted in 2001. Accusations swirled of deep corruption and both Ghani and Abdullah declared themselves president. The ensuing political crisis did not end until Ghani and Abdullah reached a power-sharing agreement on May 16, 2020, in which Ghani would remain president and Abdullah would lead peace talks with the Taliban. Since the country’s first elections in 2004, many believed that the electoral process would improve over time, but every election in Afghanistan has become more fraudulent than the last. Afghanistan’s elections have seen a gradually declining turnout, from around 70 percent in 2004 to less than 25 percent in 2019. The decline in turnout reflected the growing public frustration with widespread fraud and misuse of power.
Fair and transparent elections are crucial for responsive and accountable governance and are required to ensure public confidence in the government, both at the national and local levels. Afghanistan experienced the opposite— the fraudulent elections in Afghanistan increased corruption, undermined government legitimacy, and crippled the efforts to gain popular support and meet Afghanistan's needs.
In 2012, over half of Afghan citizens paid a bribe for a public service, while about a third paid a bribe for a private sector service. From 2010 to 2013, the total cost of corruption in Afghanistan rose dramatically to $3.9 billion. Afghans were enraged by the government's failure to deliver fundamental public services, as well as the widespread corruption of the nation’s elites. The people of Afghanistan despised the abuses of power, impunity, and lack of justice that have been ingrained over the years.
From the moment Ghani came to power in 2014, his rule was tainted with corruption. Ghani granted several government contracts to his family members throughout his nearly seven years in power. Khatib & Alami, a Beirut-based firm, received $16 million in sole-source contracts from the Afghan government without going through a public bidding procedure or obtaining a legitimate work permit. The contract was brokered by Riad Saada, Ghani's brother-in-law. In September 2019, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced that the United States was withholding about $160 million for an Afghan energy project because of the lack of transparency and accountability in the National Procurement Authority.
Ghani, a winner of fraudulent elections, was an unpopular president. He centralized power within the presidential palace and sidelined government ministries by creating parallel institutions and administrations, often led by corrupted officials. Ghani’s small incompetent circle’s interference in government institutions weakened their ability to meet citizens’ needs. Ghani’s inability to unite the country fueled instability. His outbursts of rage and displays of arrogance were frequent, and he quickly became loathed and isolated from the Afghan people. Ghani’s commitment and transparency was often questioned. A fact that became extremely clear after he took millions of dollars when he escaped from the country, abandoned his people, and the government collapsed. Twenty years of gains in Afghanistan have been reversed, at a speed no one could have predicted. Fraudulent elections were a major element leading to Afghanistan’s fall.
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Election Fraud Undermined Afghanistan’s Fledgling Democracy
Photo by Zahid via Unsplash.
November 19, 2021
Elections held in Afghanistan from 2005-2018 were haunted by corruption, undermining already tenuous Afghan support for a democratic process which was failing to produce effective governance, writes Mustafa Aryan, a former director at Afghanistan's High Council of National Reconciliation.
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ree and fair elections are the foundation of democracy. Elections are, at their most basic level, an important instrument for a government to hold itself accountable to its people. Following the ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001, Afghanistan’s first-ever Presidential election was held in October 2004. Afghans went to the polls for the first time in their history, positioning Afghanistan’s path towards a democratic country.
When many Afghans were unsatisfied with poor governance, elections, if seen as reasonably free and fair, would have reaffirmed that the people had had a say in the future of their country. From September 2005 to October 2018, Afghanistan held three parliamentary elections. All were alleged to be fraudulent. The 2005 elections were subject to fraud allegations and lengthy delays, with results not announced until November. In 2010, many candidates called for a suspension of the election due to claims of fraud and election rigging, leading to numerous interruptions in announcing the results. In the 2018 election, despite making some positive steps, such as preparing voter lists and using biometric identification, the Afghan government and elections commission were again unable to deliver a fair and transparent process.
All of Afghanistan’s presidential elections – 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 – faced similar problems. Despite security threats, millions of Afghans voted in the 2009 election, demonstrating their commitment to a democratic process in the face of the ongoing conflict. However, as the process continued, widespread fraud became apparent. The process’ integrity was harmed, as the election was conducted without a consolidated and accurate voter registration. Neither leading candidate – incumbent president Hamid Karzai nor Abdullah Abdullah – obtained the 50% support required to win in the first round. Abdullah withdrew in the second round as his request for the electoral commission to guarantee transparent elections was not met.
The 2014 presidential election was held in April, with a second round held in June. According to opinion polls, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani were the front-runners, and the first round election results showed Abdullah leading and Ghani behind him. However, since neither candidate could secure a majority, the election went into a runoff. The runoff became controversial due to, once again, widespread election fraud. Then–U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry mediated talks between the two candidates, resulting in a power-sharing agreement. Abdullah compromised and settled for the position of Chief Executive and Ghani became president.
The fourth presidential election in Afghanistan’s history was held in September 2019 with only 1.82 million votes cast, compared to the 2004 presidential elections where more than 8 million votes were cast. It was the lowest turnout since the Taliban were ousted in 2001. Accusations swirled of deep corruption and both Ghani and Abdullah declared themselves president. The ensuing political crisis did not end until Ghani and Abdullah reached a power-sharing agreement on May 16, 2020, in which Ghani would remain president and Abdullah would lead peace talks with the Taliban. Since the country’s first elections in 2004, many believed that the electoral process would improve over time, but every election in Afghanistan has become more fraudulent than the last. Afghanistan’s elections have seen a gradually declining turnout, from around 70 percent in 2004 to less than 25 percent in 2019. The decline in turnout reflected the growing public frustration with widespread fraud and misuse of power.
Fair and transparent elections are crucial for responsive and accountable governance and are required to ensure public confidence in the government, both at the national and local levels. Afghanistan experienced the opposite— the fraudulent elections in Afghanistan increased corruption, undermined government legitimacy, and crippled the efforts to gain popular support and meet Afghanistan's needs.
In 2012, over half of Afghan citizens paid a bribe for a public service, while about a third paid a bribe for a private sector service. From 2010 to 2013, the total cost of corruption in Afghanistan rose dramatically to $3.9 billion. Afghans were enraged by the government's failure to deliver fundamental public services, as well as the widespread corruption of the nation’s elites. The people of Afghanistan despised the abuses of power, impunity, and lack of justice that have been ingrained over the years.
From the moment Ghani came to power in 2014, his rule was tainted with corruption. Ghani granted several government contracts to his family members throughout his nearly seven years in power. Khatib & Alami, a Beirut-based firm, received $16 million in sole-source contracts from the Afghan government without going through a public bidding procedure or obtaining a legitimate work permit. The contract was brokered by Riad Saada, Ghani's brother-in-law. In September 2019, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced that the United States was withholding about $160 million for an Afghan energy project because of the lack of transparency and accountability in the National Procurement Authority.
Ghani, a winner of fraudulent elections, was an unpopular president. He centralized power within the presidential palace and sidelined government ministries by creating parallel institutions and administrations, often led by corrupted officials. Ghani’s small incompetent circle’s interference in government institutions weakened their ability to meet citizens’ needs. Ghani’s inability to unite the country fueled instability. His outbursts of rage and displays of arrogance were frequent, and he quickly became loathed and isolated from the Afghan people. Ghani’s commitment and transparency was often questioned. A fact that became extremely clear after he took millions of dollars when he escaped from the country, abandoned his people, and the government collapsed. Twenty years of gains in Afghanistan have been reversed, at a speed no one could have predicted. Fraudulent elections were a major element leading to Afghanistan’s fall.
