The first ever Presidential election is set to take place in the country three years after the collapse of the Taliban regime. This should be an exciting time of hope in our history, but three years of warlordism and discord inside the ruling administration have jaded the people’s aspirations for a positive result.

As the last two Loya Jirgas were polluted by the presence of Jehadi criminals, this election too would be unfair in such chaos and terror developed by the warlords and this was approved by world known media and groups such as HRW, UN etc.. Irrespective of the various US sources which believe Zalmai Khalilzad the key player of the election, from our prospective the coming election is a mockery of democracy and wouldn’t be fair and free, keeping the below into consideration:

• This election is to be held when corruption, bribery, red-tapism, drug trafficking, and the abduction of children are at unprecedented levels, and guns and terrorism dominate the country. Guns, money and intimidation rule over and influence the law.
  
  

• Lack of security is the core problem. The president is being protected by US bodyguards – but who will protect the vulnerable innocent people from the bullets of the warlords?
  
  

• Both the so-called “National Army” and the police are influenced by the “Northern Alliance” and are manipulated by them for drug trafficking and other heinous crimes.
  
  

• The recent 1100 US troops have only engaged in combat operations with the Taliban , Al-Qaida and Gulbaddin terrorists gangs. These groups have not only killed Afghans, but also Americans. However, the US troops and the ISAF have done nothing to curb the criminal “Northern Alliance” gang of Fahim-Qanoni, who has NOT killed Americans - only the Afghans!
  
  

• The nine thousand ISAF forces are not able to guarantee the security of Kabul city.
  
  

• The “Election Commission” is occupied by the warlords and their agents. Among the 18 presidential candidates, there are some notorious faces like Ahmed Shah Ahmedzai, Hafizull Mansour, Abdul Hadi Dabir, Latif Pedram, Qanoni, Dostum and Mohaqiq who were among the first to be put on trial as treacherous criminals. Over 150 complaint letters have been submitted by the victims against the above criminals, but the Commission has rejected them all. The Election Commission breached election law and opened the door for these bloodthirsty warlords. The few candidates whose hands are not stained with blood are weak and wavering against fundamentalists, and are considered to be more interested in their own fame than getting votes from the masses.
  
  

• There is no woman among the candidates that the women can truly rely on.

  Shafiqa Habibi has been portrayed by the West as the representative of Afghan women and a defender of human rights, but in addition to her connections with the pro-Moscow puppets, she has become so abject that she admits to be a deputy of Dostum! This has defamed her more than ever and put her in opposition to all women who suffered at the hands of Dostum and other rapists. Her present status proved RAWA’s predictions true regarding her suspicious position.

  Neither can Masouda Jalal represent Afghan women due to her connection with the Jamiat-e-Islami of Rabbani and her collaborating position with other fundamentalists. True representatives of women are those great people like Malalai Joya who dares to speak on behalf of all suffering women and men in the country. Actually, the new president’s gender is not the issue; what really matters is the position that the upcoming president would take toward the fundamentalists who are the root cause of all problems of the present tragedy in Afghanistan.
  
  

• Even the Gulbaddin party has not been banned to participate in the election. Abdul Sattar Sirat, who is being inaccurately portrayed as a “pro-democracy technocrat” nominates Qazi Amin Waqad, a notorious terrorist of Gulbaddin Hekmatyar’s band as his deputy!
  
  

• It is unbelievable but a bitter reality that Latif Pedram, a known torturer of KHAD and a special envoy of Burhanuddin Rabbani, runs for the presidency. He wears the mask of defender of “women’s rights”, “democracy” and even “Secularism”, but is in fact a former pro-Iranian regime spy. Even more amazing is that some world medias are generously furthering his propaganda for him. He may be fooling the world with his make up and dressing in the western style. But he cannot deceive the Afghan people, who will never forget his Khadi - Jehadi background as well as his Iranian connection.

  It does not matter if Pedram and those like him won’t receive a significant vote; the point is that people will naturally lose their hope when they see the presence of Iranian regime agents in the election.
  
  

• Even though Karzai disposed of Fahim as his deputy, this act was not of great value. We repeatedly pointed out that awarding the rank of “marshal” to a man whose hands are stained with blood is a big insult to the people. Moreover, Fahim was replaced with Khalili and Zia Masoud (brother of Ahmad Shah Masoud) who are of the same brand as Fahim. Everybody knows the criminal profile of Khalili, and the latest crime by him was reported three months ago when a murderer was released with his intervention. Mr Zia Masoud, besides being involved in trafficking of precious stones along with Wali Masoud, is also accused of filching US$500,000 of CIA that was supposed to channel to Ahmed Shah Masoud (“Ghost Wars” by Steve Coll).
  
  

• Time and again we have asserted that Fahim and his accomplices are walking time-bombs and would be even more rabid if awarded with power. Fahim proved this by blatantly threatening Karzai as soon as he was passed over for the nomination for Vice President. Mr. Karzai is sure to receive more insults in the future from the bogus marshals that he himself created.

  The above reshuffling of the cabinet not only sustains the power of warlords, it also portrays a clear picture of how anti-democratic and anti-people Mr. Karzai’s cabinet will be in the future.
  
  

• Declaration of Rabbani and company in support of Karzai is a red light that indicates how infected the future administration will be by the germs of fundamentalism. If these traitors are not reserved by the force of the US, then the likes of Fahim and others will prove more and more dangerous to Mr. Karzai.
  
  

• Despite the flow of the three billion dollars donated (though not at all comparable with the $26 billion donated to Iraq), so far, nothing significant in reconstruction has been observed in Afghanistan. According to the Minister of Planning, that amount could change Afghanistan. A major percentage of this money has been channeled directly into the pockets of the warlords, who are also swiping billions of dollars through drug trafficking. They have turned into monsters that commit any crime they wish under the very eye of ISAF and American forces. Undoubtedly, setting up the election would be all too easy for them.
  
  

• Sayyaf donated one million dollars to the Ministry of Education, Qanoni donated one million dollars to the Education Administrator of Farah and Mr Mohsini gave 12 million dollars from his own pocket to build a religious school! Such huge amounts of money that apparently were given as donations were actually spent on the election campaign. With billion of dollars in their hands, the warlords can commit any treacherousness in the election.

  Ismail Khan, another leader of the criminals, shamelessly “arrests” young women in the streets to be “examined” whether they are a virgin or not. Such a horrible insult to women has no precedent in all the world.
  
  

• The US-based magazine “The Nation” (October 4, 2004) has published the appalling story of a group of Afghan women who were deported by the Iranian regime. The women were first kidnapped and dishonored by henchmen of Ismail Khan and then taken to the so-called Independent Commission of Human Rights of Sima Samar where they were shamefully displayed on auction for men to come and take them away. The story bleeds the heart of every honorable person.

  Can it be still expected that Afghan women, burning in such an inferno, go to the polls with any enthusiasm?
  
  

• The situation in Afghanistan has been so fragile that Al Zawaheri claims that Afghanistan is in the hands of Taliban and Al-Qaida. Al-Qaida clearly observes that US policies have not succeeded in Afghanistan and the “Northern Alliance”, their ideological and religious brethren are gaining strength. Al-Qaida observes that the US and her allies waged the “war on terror”, relying not on US troops but on their brothers-in-creed, the “Northern Alliance”.
  
  

• Around 30 election workers and NGO employees have been killed by the Taliban, and more deadly attacks are expected during the election. Nobody in the world would put his/her life at risk to vote.
  
  

• Hundreds of publications in the country indicate a positive sign, but this quantity bares no value when they can NOT write freely under the gun of fundamentalists. None of the publications dare to criticize even slightly Ahmad Shah Masoud or even Fahim. “Payam-e-Zan” is still published in secret because it writes about Secularism and defiantly discloses crimes committed by the “Northern Alliance” and Ahmed Shah Masoud. The Secularism that 90 years ago was introduced by Amanullah Khan has now become so taboo that the press is so afraid to talk about it. The few comments by Mr. Mubariz against the warlords cost him a terrorist attack on his residence by the hooligans of Fahim, Qanoni and Sayyaf. How can it be expected that the press play a significant role in the election?
  
  

• The election result is already known; Karzai will win. This is not a prophetic prediction. People are left with no other option but to choose between Karzai and the criminals. This is because the democratic movement is weak, and no genuine democratic-minded, independence-loving and pro-people candidate exists. Hence, the limited number of voters – despite his mistakes and dealings with the criminals – will definitely prefer Karzai to the warlords. The warlords cannot win enough votes to replace Karzai even by using all their power and fraud. The credit therefore won’t go to Karzai if he wins. People will go to polling stations in desperate spirits, praying that Karzai stands resolute against the fundamentalists.

What we stated above may be perceived by some people as “pessimistic” regarding the situation. But these critics will be unable to give any example of predictions or analyses RAWA has made in connection with the fundamentalists that has proved to be wrong. Since RAWA has always had the courage to face the worst realities and fight them, RAWA will never distort or assuage the bitter facts.

We are of the staunch belief that after fulfilling the crucial task of defeating fundamentalism, the day will come when we breathe the fresh air of freedom and democracy and reconstruct our wasteland by our own hands and with the sincere help of freedom-loving nations.