Elections: Afghan voters speak

In the run-up to Afghanistan's first parliamentary elections, the BBC News website spoke to six voters about who they will be voting for, their concerns about the election process and what the poll means for the future of their country.

---

TAHIR QADIRY, 21, JOURNALIST, MAZAR-E-SHARIF

Tahir would like to stand as a candidate one day

Oppression in Afghanistan is older than I am.

We are a war-weary country and nothing like this has happened in my lifetime.

It is a golden opportunity for Afghans, but there are serious problems.

Some people don't even know what an election is! I've met people who think this is a presidential election, saying they're going to vote for Hamid Karzai.

There are illiterates standing as candidates; the constitution says nothing about literacy. How can candidates defend the rights of people if they cannot even read the law?

There are also warlords who have nominated themselves. If they are elected, an unhappy atmosphere could return.

I want to vote for an independent. I don't care about his or her ethnicity - I just want them to be competent and capable. That is my slogan.

I know the next generation of candidates will be better. This country can produce people with open minds and great ideas and I would like to stand for election one day.

SHAHRNAZ RAFI, 20, OFFICE WORKER, KABUL

Shahrnaz will vote for the candidate who fights for women's rights

I'm going to vote for the candidate who will rid this country of prejudice and discrimination.

The main victims of our recent history have been women and children. My society doesn't consider women to be equal.

When a girl is born to a family, it is bad news. At all stages of life - from birth to marriage to motherhood - women face discrimination.

This election gives us a chance to prove our worth in the political arena.

One of the things I have observed is that people only trust those they have direct relationships with. They will vote according to their personal relationships with candidates.

So I am afraid that warlords will get elected because they have power and connections.

There have been small revolutions since the Taleban, who didn't allow women to walk freely. But, I fear, the Taleban lives on in the minds of some men.

CPS:CROSSHEAD STYLE="cross1">ABDUL RAZAQ, 46, HOTEL MANAGER, BAMIYAN

Abdul Razaq wants Hazaras included in government

A love for freedom, democracy and human rights will define the candidate I vote for.

I am Hazara and one of the big issues for me is the unity of Afghanistan.

Historically, there have been huge problems between Pashtuns and Hazaras, Tajiks and Uzbeks. They all have to be included in parliament and form a brotherly community.

We are part of Afghanistan and we have to share everything.

It is not acceptable that there are only Pashtuns at the top. I want to see other ethnic groups in the cabinet. This is why we fought for five years in this country.

Not all the mujahideen who are standing for election are bad. I will judge candidates by their deeds and not by what other people say.

But there are a lot of terrorist candidates in the south. I'm furious that such candidates can stand for parliament. What if they get into government?

CPS:CROSSHEAD STYLE="cross1">KHALID AHMAD, STUDENT, KABUL

I'm not going to vote because it's all a joke.

As far as I can see, everybody has nominated themselves as a candidate and I don't trust any of them.

Many of the big candidates are the warlords who destroyed Kabul. They fought against each other in those days but now they have formed a political opposition.

Whenever I see them on TV standing together, I can't believe in these elections.

Now we have a choice to vote - but vote for whom? For the old fighters of Kabul? Khalid Ahmad

The good thing about female candidates is that they are not tainted by the past.

I have lived for all my life in the same house north of Kabul. Life was dangerous. Rockets were constantly flying about even as we walked along the roads.

They rained down during the American bombardment, because 500m from our house was a military compound.

We stopped caring, we'd simply wait to get hit.

Now we have a choice to vote - but vote for whom? For the old fighters of Kabul? I don't see anyone here who can serve correctly.

CPS:CROSSHEAD STYLE="cross1">FEROZA MUSHTARI, MIDWIFE, KAPISA PROVINCE

Feroza believes Afghanistan needs more midwives as a matter of urgency

We're not voting on little bits of policy, I feel as if we are voting on the survival of our future generations.

I mean this literally.

In Afghanistan there are not enough institutes to train midwives and they only train for two years. After they graduate, only a few of them get places in hospitals and many of them stay at home.

My request to parliament is that they must improve the level of midwifery education level. It's an incredibly important job in this country because we have the world's highest maternal mortality rates here.

This is also why women in the Afghan parliament are so important. Women know very well the problems that mothers suffer.

My vote will go to somebody who is enlightened, educated and most importantly somebody who has feeling.

Women can take informed decisions about the future mothers of Afghanistan.

CPS:CROSSHEAD STYLE="cross1">MOHAMMED IBRAHIM, CHARITY ADMINISTRATOR, KABUL

We are disappointed in our candidates. There are commanders and warlords and great corruption.

I'm going to vote for a candidate who studied in London and specialised in politics. He's an independent - which is very important.

I often find that women are the best candidates Mohammed Ibrahim

Most of our candidates are not educated but this man has a real sense of how to save Afghanistan.

Parliament needs educated people who are honest and hard working.

The priority for Afghans is to choose a good person, but bribes are dirtying the process.

I often find that women are the best candidates. I hope they can find more supporters to work for them as they have no political affiliations.

But I fear they have little support in the population.

This choice of voters has been selected from as wide a cross-section of people as possible and may not be representative of wider public opinion.

---

Your comments:

I only hope that the west does not turn its back on the Afghan people as this process works itself out. It is going to take time. My country's way of spreading democracy has turned incredibly sour in many cases. The Afghans deserve to be educated in how this all works. Indeed, the point written here by Tahir Qadiry about illiteracy among the candidates is troubling. That kind of development can only turn Afghanistan back into a country that believes in oppressive religious ideas. Good Luck Afghanistan. You deserve the best help from all of us!
Saarc, New York, USA

I don't trust any of the people campaigning for the coming election. They don't have the adequate political experiences to lead Afghanistan towards prosperity and unification. They will instead establish an atmosphere of animosity and ethnical prejudice, which every Afghan opposes. Candidates should have been nominated who have specialized in high professional degrees like law, because they have a sense of leadership and understand Afghans' sentiments. I am optimistic that I will one day nominate myself as a candidate in Afghanistan with broad visions.
Rohullah Sultani, Melbourne , Australia

It is a great day for Afghans to be able to participate in the elections. They should work on their parliamentary process and work to make laws about who can run as a candidate and the educational requirements for it. It will be a long journey.
Veda, Toronto, Canada

I think this election brings freedom and reconstruction for the Afghan people.
Rahim Ahmadi, Mazar-e-Sharif