Kabul - As families in Oregon sit down to dinner Friday night, the more than 10 million registered voters in Afghanistan will begin lining up at the 5000 polling booths around the country to vote for their president for the first time in 20 years. In a new Mercy Corps-sponsored report released on the eve of the Afghan presidential elections, 88% surveyed said that disarmament of local warlords is the single most important issue to be handled by their new president.
Commissioned by Mercy Corps as part of a 12-member Human Rights, Research and Advocacy Consortium (HRRAC), the new survey, called Take the Guns Away: Afghan Voices on Security and Elections, shows that although Afghans expressed many concerns regarding security and the likelihood of free and fair elections, most remain remarkably optimistic that elections will bring wide-ranging changes. While Afghan citizens have high expectations for the future of their country, they continue to fear warlords, random violence, human rights abuse, and guns.
"Afghans we spoke to overwhelmingly want their government to remove the guns in their communities," says Jim White, Mercy Corps’ Director of Program Operations for Afghanistan. " We felt this survey was an important step to help ensure that policy-makers listen to what local Afghans think about the issues that affect them."
Mercy Corps has more than 400 staff in Afghanistan and most will be voting in the elections. "Many of our staff feel that the simple fact that their country is having elections is a sign of progress," adds White. "Our hope is that the international community continue to focus on the needs of the Afghans even after the elections."
HRRAC is comprised of seven Afghan organizations and six international organizations working in Afghanistan. The opinion survey interviewed more than 760 people in six provinces across the country this summer. The full report is available at http://www.mercycorps.org/pdfs/1097016137.pdf.
Mercy Corps has been operational in Afghanistan since 1986 and has completed more than 50 humanitarian and development programs, plus thousands of community-based projects that combined have benefited more than two million people. In 2002-2003 alone, the Afghan programs’ total net worth was over $32 million. Current programs include agricultural and economic development initiatives; civil society programs that improve participation in community decision-making; and education and literacy initiatives. More info is at www.mercycorps.org.
