election campaign in afghanistan on its way…please post all relevant material under this thread…thanks
Afghan election campaign begins
There are fears that the voting process will not be free or fair
Campaigning has begun in earnest on Tuesday for Afghanistan’s first presidential election, with a series of rallies expected across the country.
The country’s first nationwide vote is being seen as a landmark in efforts to bring democracy after years of war.
Eighteen candidates are standing in the 9 October poll, including interim leader Hamid Karzai.
Campaigning is taking place amid warnings that voters are threatened by insecurity, violence and intimidation.
Low-key campaign
Afghanistan has never before experienced the cut and thrust of political campaigning, including rallies and gatherings, and party political broadcasts, says the BBC’s Andrew North in Kabul.
Each candidate is guaranteed 20 minutes a week on state television.
But there are numerous concerns, including security fears and the fact that many of the 10.5 million registered voters simply do not exist, our correspondent says.
Large numbers of people appear to have signed up several times.
Among the rallies due to be held on Tuesday is one in Kabul by the only woman presidential candidate, Masooda Jalal, and will be attended only by women.
Another rally is scheduled in the town of Jalalabad.
The United Nations, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Afghan human rights workers have expressed fears about the fairness of the campaign and vote.
‘Heavily circumscribed’
The UN and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission say a lack of information about democracy is making voters vulnerable to manipulation.
In a report released on Monday, they said that even the most basic conditions for a democratic vote are in danger of not being met, following a wave of militant attacks.
Only one of the 18 candidates is a woman
Last week the OSCE - a top election observer body - said that the country’s poor security situation makes it impossible “meaningfully” to monitor the polls.
“Freedom of movement is heavily circumscribed,” an OSCE report said, “and there are large no-go areas for the international community.”
Meanwhile, there are concerns that more people have registered to vote than are eligible, and that voter fraud will inevitably result.
President Hamid Karzai is seeking a popular mandate in the landmark vote, which precedes parliamentary polls due to take place in April.
its Politics..
Kabul with their Pics and Messages… BUT… you wont see even a Single Poster coming from KARZAI… It shows.. that… He thinks… HE DONT NEED TO PRINT POSTERS FOR HIS COMPAING… 
