The soldiers armed with heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades perched above the blue tile archways of the 600-year-old mosque highlighted the fact that this was no ordinary event.
“There is no precedent for this type of election,” says Mohammed Kafash, 43, a candidate who promoted himself with the slogan “Your Brother.” “We hope to set an example for the rest of Afghanistan.” The election came only two weeks after the western city was wrested from Taliban control by Northern Alliance forces under the command of Ismael Khan, now the self-appointed governor of Herat province. Gunshots still ring out at night and edgy patrols man the city’s main squares. But, to bring a semblance of normalcy to city residents’ lives, and to add a touch of legitimacy to the new regime, a council of “white beards,” respected city elders, had met for days to discuss the details of the vote.
After much hand-wringing and several postponements, they settled on an Afghan-style electoral college where some 700 delegates–most from local districts, but a small number representing the various interests of the city bazaar–would cast the actual ballots. The process seemed a little labored as the names of each representative were called to receive a ballot signed by all five members of an election committee. The chosen then disappeared inside a makeshift voting chamber and cast a ballot into one of eight rusty green boxes plastered with the somber pictures of each candidate. “This is the first time we’re participating in a democratic process,” said Nazirahmad Ahmadi, 30, a resident in a city that has not held an election since 1973. Ahmadi watched the proceedings from a distance, but supported the indirect voting system. “We can now feel like free and whole human beings,” he said.
There was only one thing that seemed to be missing: a female presence. “This election has completely overlooked women,” said Homeira Hanaf , 25, a worker at Habitat, a U.N.-sponsored nongovernmental organization that runs several projects addressing the needs of female refugees and widows. All of the delegates at Wednesday’s election were male, and no women showed up to watch the proceedings. “Even if we were given the opportunity to voice our political opinion, it would still be ignored,” said Hanaf.
Many of the mayoral candidates, wary of the political sensitivity of women’s rights, mentioned female education and job creation, along with city reconstruction and public health, as the main issues that need to be addressed.
For many women, any governmental support would be an improvement over the recent past. “We haven’t had any rights for several years” said Saideh Hamidi, 25. “Now we’re satisfied with even the smallest rights.” By late afternoon, the counting of ballots had been completed and Mohammed Rafiq Mojadadi, 47, a deputy mayor under the Taliban, was announced as the winner with a majority of 427 votes. Some Heratis expressed reservations about his previous ties with he Taliban, but he downplayed his collaboration. “Taliban policies were laid down in their base in Kandahar, and we had to follow,” he said. “We didn’t even have control over our beards or have TVs in our homes during their time.” Indeed, the division between contenders was less political than religious. Six of the eight candidates, including Mojadadi, were Sunni Muslims; the others were Shiites. Sunnis are in the majority in Herat, but Shiites form a significant minority and there have been concerns about tensions between them.
It’s also debatable how big a role elected officials can play while the Northern Alliance are the governing political entity in the country. Regardless, the city is calm at present and residents seem happy to replace bullets with ballots. “People are just happy that there’s no fighting here and the Taliban are gone,” said Basir Ahmad Fakuri, 35, a Herati businessman. “We don’t really care who’s elected.”
