KABUL // The campaign chairman for the main rival to President Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan's upcoming elections has warned that his team will actively reject a result that has the incumbent winning.
In stark terms with potentially severe implications for the country's future, Abdul Sattar Murad said supporters of Abdullah Abdullah would take part in mass protests if their candidate was not victorious.
"We will not accept it. [Mr Karzai] cannot win unless he resorts to large-scale corruption, so we will not accept that. The nation is not voting for him. He only gets votes through his governors and by corruption," he said.
Presidential and provincial council elections are due to take place on August 20, at a time when Afghanistan is faced with its worst insurgent violence since the Taliban regime was overthrown almost eight years ago.
Mr Karzai is the clear favourite and most observers expect him to triumph, either in the first round of voting or in a runoff soon afterwards. But with the campaign season now in full swing and candidates holding rallies across the country, the gap may be closing.
The incumbent's two nearest challengers are Mr Abdullah, a former foreign minister, and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, a former finance minister.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Murad gave a clear sign of the tension that is developing with just weeks left to go. And in a city still coming to terms with a recent history of turmoil and bloodshed, his words could have huge significance.
Describing Mr Karzai as "a thief", he stated more than once that any victory for the president will be regarded as a fix and Mr Abdullah's supporters would not accept it.
"There will be a big demonstration, street demonstrations, and it will turn bad. The country will land in the middle of a crisis," he said.
"What we see right now is that Dr Abdullah is going to win. If it's the people's vote and mandate, he is going to win. If it's the governors' and the election commission's mandate and vote, Karzai is going to win."
Insults and suspicion are nothing new to the political scene here. Last week, Mr Karzai pulled out of a television debate with his two main challengers, accusing the network hosting it of being biased.
Posters of the candidates are plastered in villages, towns and cities throughout the country, often being ripped down or covered up by supporters of other campaigns.
But there has as yet been no significant unrest between rival sides. If Mr Murad's warnings are to be believed, that could change.
He was the governor of Kapisa province until he was removed from his position in 2007, and he accused Mr Karzai's backers of creating "phantom" voter registration cards in Paktika, Paktia and Logar. The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC), he claimed, was directly involved in plans to rig the result.
"With Karzai as president, with Dr [Azizullah] Ludin as head of the election commission, zero per cent we are confident [the process will be free and fair]," he said.
The IEC was established in accordance with Afghanistan's constitution. It oversaw the presidential election in 2004 and the parliamentary and provincial council elections a year later. International monitors will be present on Aug 20. Noor Mohammad Noor, spokesman for the IEC, called on anyone with proof of fraud to present the evidence to it or the Electoral Complaints Commission. He categorically denied that the IEC is secretly backing Mr Karzai, adding, "the Afghan people believe [in] us".
A second round is scheduled to take place if no candidate gets more than half the vote - something Mr Murad insisted would happen only if Mr Karzai "can resort to 50 per cent of [the corruption] he has planned". Otherwise, he said, Mr Abdullah would win at the first time of asking.
With the Taliban-led insurgency growing stronger, there are genuine fears that many Afghans will not be able to go safely to the polls. However, so far no official evidence of the kind of widespread fraud he alleges has come to light.
The possibility of unrest, though, is on a lot of minds. People across the country have become increasingly frustrated with the government and foreign troops in recent years. Corruption is just one of the reasons for their disenchantment.
Haroun Mir, the director of Afghanistan's Centre for Research and Policy Studies, warned "there is a huge risk of violence" breaking out when the results are announced.
"If there is a second round then the country will polarise along ethnic lines," he said.
From 1992 to 1996, Kabul was torn apart by a civil war between factions of the mujahideen, who had earlier resisted Soviet occupation. A number of the key players in that carnage are now prominent figures in the various election campaigns.
"If Abdullah says, 'I don't accept the outcome of the elections', what will happen?" We will not have peaceful demonstrations in Kabul like in Tehran or elsewhere. People will come with their Kalashnikovs. Every single home in Kabul has a gun," Mr Mir said.
csands@thenational.ae
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
The studios taking part (so far)
- Punch
- Vogue Fitness
- Sweat
- Bodytree Studio
- The Hot House
- The Room
- Inspire Sports (Ladies Only)
- Cryo
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Her most famous song
Aghadan Alqak (Would I Ever Find You Again)?
Would I ever find you again
You, the heaven of my love, my yearning and madness;
You, the kiss to my soul, my cheer and
sadness?
Would your lights ever break the night of my eyes again?
Would I ever find you again?
This world is volume and you're the notion,
This world is night and you're the lifetime,
This world is eyes and you're the vision,
This world is sky and you're the moon time,
Have mercy on the heart that belongs to you.
Lyrics: Al Hadi Adam; Composer: Mohammed Abdel Wahab
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Handicap | US$135,000 (Dirt) | 1,400 metres
7.05pm: Handicap | $135,000 (Turf) | 1,200m
7.40pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes | Group 3 | $200,000 (T) | 2,000m
8.15pm: UAE Oaks | Group 3 | $250,000 (D) | 1,900m
8.50pm: Zabeel Mile | Group 2 | $250,000 (T) | 1,600m
9.20pm: Handicap | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
ICC T20 Team of 2021
Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Afridi
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