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31 October 2008
Professor Compares the U.S. and Afghan Elections
Ask America webchat transcript, October 30
Political science professor Andrew Reynolds participated in an October 30 Ask America Online Forum Afghanistan on the similarities in and differences between the election processes in Afghanistan and the United States.
Following is the transcript:
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of International Information Programs
Ask America Webchat Transcript
Online Forum Afghanistan: Comparative View of Afghan and U.S. Elections
Guest: Dr. Andrew Reynolds
Date: October 30, 2008
Time: 7:30 a.m. EDT (11:30 GMT, 16:00 Kabul)
Moderator: Welcome to today's discussion! The online chat will begin at 1600 Kabul.
Hello and welcome to our webchat with Dr. Andrew Reynolds! Please continue to submit your questions. Dr. Reynolds will begin answering those questions now.
Question [Bob Hudnall]: Free and fair elections are a symbol of our democracy, but they are predicated upon an informed and somewhat literate society who can discern between good government and corrupt strongmen or warlords. How will Afghanistan fare in the environment that exists there now with so much misinformation, tribal bickering and corruption that is growing daily from Kabul outward?
Answer [Andrew Reynolds]: Bob, I agree with you that vibrant elections are helped greatly by an informed citizenry who are given the chance to make a free choice, but my experience in Afghanistan and elsewhere (especially in Africa) is that illiteracy does not go hand in hand with a lack of knowledge, or opinion. Most Afghans are knowledgeable about the challenges that face them and they have opinions over how to run their society. The key is (will be) to allow them to express these opinions without the constraints of violence, corruption or intimidation. Democracy is a slow learning process, Afghanistan is at its fledgling stage.
Q [Habib Ullah]: Hello, my name is Habib Ullah. I am from Lincoln Center, Mazar Sharif.
Moderator: Hello Habib Ullah, and thank you for joining us!
Q [Kuba]: Sir, you have worked in many countries: How can you assess Afghan electorate in comparison to other new democracies? How, for example, to educate the remote village? How to teach about voting?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Kuba, I think some of the voter education went well, but it was limited because of the conflict and difficulty of the geography of rural areas. But Afghans were not helped by the complexity of the Wolesi Jirga election system which was very unfriendly to voters. Comparatively I see Afghans as just as capable of voting effectively as anywhere else if they were given systems which were appropriate.
Q [Ivote]: Dr. Reynolds, thank you for your time in this discussion.
Q [amir]: what are the new strategies of both candidates and the effection of election regarding to Afghanistan's Security and betterment?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Amir, the main difference between the two U.S. presidential candidates (while they both say a peaceful Afghanistan is crucial to U.S. foreign policy interests) is that Sen. Obama wants to shift focus from Iraq to Afghanistan, while Sen. McCain argues that the U.S. needs to ‘finish the job’ in Iraq, first.
Q [CHAT]: Hello! How do you ensure the security of ballots in Afghanistan? Who is to say ballot boxes will not be tampered with?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: An important question – especially because there were problems with ballot fraud in the last elections. Well, his can be minimized by the election commission having the resources to count securely (and be protected by the Police/Army) and having large numbers of well trained observers watching every stage of the process. Next time the burden will fall on Afghan observation groups as far fewer internationals will watch the elections.
Moderator: Thank you all for your participation! Please continue to submit your questions.
Q [Ajmal/LC Jalalabad]: How many members the U.S parlimaint has, and for how many years the representatives are chosen?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: 435 Representatives (like the Wolesi Jirga) 100 senators (like the Meshrano Jirga) 6 year terms.
Q [guestchat]: what is the most important new characteristic of this 2008 election?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: The U.S. election?
I'd say two things: 1. the fact that for the first time in the U.S. a candidate from a 'minority ethnic group' may win; and second, both candidates claim to offer fundamental change from the previous government at a time when there is much upheaval in the country.
Moderator: Dr. Reynolds, can you tell us a bit about voter registration procedures?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: From what I understand voter registration in Afghanistan continues to be a tricky process, due to the lack of a good census and existing identity documents. When I was last in Kabul the Election Commission (backed by international groups) was working hard to address this problem, but I fear that registration will still be problematic in forthcoming elections.
Q [Sayed Javed]: Afghans who vote in USA, I think they might be in the minority, do most of them participate in voting there, or stay naturel?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Sayed: I think many Afghans who are able to vote in the U.S. (as U.S. citizens) do participate, but you are correct, they are small in number.
Q [siam/lc jalalanbad]: Hello i am siam from afghanistan jalalabad – lc jalalabad.
Moderator: Hello Siam, thanks for being here today.
Q [Khalid]: What do you see as the future of Afghan politics?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Khalid, My hope is that Afghanistan slowly stabilizes both politically and economically. There have been many steps in that direction. There is a parliament, a president and elections happen. But of course the country will never truly advance until the security situation is addressed. My fear is that Afghanistan’s democracy will not survive if the insurgency is not dampened.
Q [Ivote]: You state on the importance of Afghan observer groups for future elections: This to me seems a massive challenge to Afghan government but also for a new NGO community. Do you believe the Afghan NGO community is to the point of having an ability to undertake a full-scale observation role?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Ivote, good point. There are very good Afghan observer groups - FEFA, etc. But you are correct, they need support. They could do the job if they had the resources to do it. (We saw pretty good domestic observation in Zimbabwe earlier this year).
Q [Sayed Javed]: As you have experience in Afghanistan, most of the candidates are coming from elders to National Assembly, we had very few young candidates in last election, how do you observe youths (20-28) will have chances to be winner in next election?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Afghanistan 'Should' be able to elect younger candidates because it has a large youth vote, and the system for the WJ allows candidates to win in the large provinces. So what is required is for youth groups to put up their very strongest leaders and for young voters to support those candidates. The youth can be a lobby group like everyone else.
Q [Ivote]: One follow-up please: I asked about Afghan NGO community. I would also be curios to know your opinion of INTERBATIONAL NGO community's role in Afghanistan, is it a positive cooperative role OR a so-called "top-down" instructional role? In my mind it must be cooperative on all spheres: election, civil society, health, all issues. How do you respond?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Ivote, in my personal opinion - in some areas there has been good cooperation, while in others it has been more top-down and the 'learning' that was supposed to be passed on to Afghans did not successfully happen. I have to say that in the election field the joint election management body did not successfully pass on a robust election structure to the Afghans. I feel there is also a lack of attention to election administration issues, paid by the Afghan government.
Moderator: Dr. Reynolds, can you tell us more about how elections in Afghanistan can be linked to traditional decision making?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: I’d say that the modes of traditional decision making in Afghanistan have most importance at the local government level. In national elections some of the principles of Afghan society can be expressed: participation, abiding by the rule of the majority, etc. But it is also worth noting that the elections break with some ‘traditional’ modes of decision making. The national elections are more inclusive of women and minorities and they represent an evolving way of running Afghan society.
Q [Abed]: What do you think about election in United States and Afghanistan isn’t so different. Do you think you can compare election in United State and Afghanistan?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Abed, we can certainly compare, and there are similarities. First off, both countries have presidential systems where the winning (or losing) of that one office is incredibly important. When it comes to elections themselves the Afghan election system requires a run off, whereas the U.S. is somewhat different. In the U.S. one candidate can win more votes but the other candidate can win because of the 'electoral college.' This happen in the Gore vs. Bush race. That 'quirk' wouldn't happen in Afghanistan.
Q [reza]: I am Reza Huseini.
Moderator: Hi Reza, thanks for joining us!
Q [Ajmal – LC Jalalabad]: Can we expect any new changing in new Gov. for the World and for Afghanistan?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Ajmal, I think you are asking what impact the U.S. presidential election will have on Afghanistan and the world?
It will effect how the U.S. acts and is perceived in the world. It could well effect how the U.S. is engaged with Afghanistan as well. My hope is that whoever wins - it will be recognized that Afghanistan needs much more support.
Q [Kuba]: If even the U.S. continues with election problems, how can Afghanistan achieve an election free and fair?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: The conflict in the country needs to be reducing (not growing) for Afghans to feel secure in their new democracy. Kuba, perhaps we shouldn't pin our hopes to perfect freeness and fairness (almost no where in the world succeeds in that) but just try and assure that the Afghan election results fairly reflect the will of the vast majority of voters. This is, I think, what happened in the 2005 Presidential elections. There were significant flaws in the process, but in the end the Presidential results reflected the will of the people.
Every 'good' election makes democracy a little bit stronger in Afghanistan. And every time leaders are held accountable it becomes less likely that 'strong men' or 'war lords' will gain sympathy for their actions.
Q [Guest]: Can you tell me for online resources on election best practices?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Guest, all you need to know about election best practices is here: http://aceproject.org/.
Q [Guest]: I am pleased to join you all. I believe the Afghans need a surge of non-military support. Do you agree? I suggest NATO member countries should provide more humanitarian assistance instead of military support if they are unwilling to send more military.
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Guest, no argument with that sentiment here.
Q [Abed]: People in Afghanistan, they think that their vote are not making decision, they think that some other countries (governments) decide the president in Afghanistan, what do you think about this.
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Well one can understand that fear when some governments have so much influence. But at the end of the day the Afghan voters will decide. Even if a candidate with strong links to the outside stands, they can be rejected by the electorate.
Q [Amrullah “Omaid” – LC Jalalabad, Afghanistan]: How many youths participate in election?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Honestly, I do not know the Youth turnout - but as was noted earlier, youth are underrepresented in the WJ.
Q [Haroon – LC Jalalabad, Afghanistan]: Hello this is Haroon from LC Jalalabd, my question is, what will be the effect of U.S.'s election on the world and specially Afghanistan?
A [Andrew Reynolds]: Thank you all so much for your questions. And I wish you great luck with your work on developing Afghan democracy. Watch the U.S. elections next week as they will be exciting, but also, as we have said before, they will matter greatly to Afghanistan. The two candidates have quite different views on international and military support to Afghanistan. I hope that the world becomes an incrementally safer place after November and that includes Afghanistan – inshala.
Moderator: We want to thank Dr. Reynolds for joining us today and thank you all for your participation. We look forward to answering more of your questions at the next Online Forum Afghanistan on November 3.
Fleur Cowan: Thank you both so much, Dr. Reynolds, we really appreciate your time.
Moderator: This chat is now closed. Please join us on Nov. 3, 12:30 GMT, 17:00 Kabul for our next Online Forum Afghanistan.
A full transcript of today's webchat will be published (usually within one business day) to our Ask America homepage. You may also visit our online community at http://co-nx.state.gov.
Moderator: Guests are chosen for their expertise. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of State.
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