About 75 percent of Snohomish County’s eligible residents did not vote in this week’s primary election.
It was an election in which there was no violence. Filling out a mail-in ballot posed no danger. In many social circles, the names of the candidates are never mentioned, and physical intimidation over who to support is nonexistent.
While Snohomish County voters yawned, soldiers, Marines and other military personnel in Afghanistan braced themselves for an election — a harbinger of the country’s future, and their own. For many soldiers, a successful election might mean less chance of another deployment in the future.
“If the people there see they have representation in the government, that will help them have more faith in that government, and we’ll need less troops to keep it stable,” said Air Force Reserve Maj. Tony Edwards, who last year earned a Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan.
Elections in Afghanistan were marred this week by roadblocks, bombs and accusations of ballot box-stuffing. President Hamid Karzai, the Pashtun frontrunner in the race, faced three main opponents for his seat. It could be days before ballots are tallied and a winner is declared.
Edwards, a State Farm insurance agent in Everett, served with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, and frequently flew in and out of Afghanistan’s remote regions.
In a country where countless people live beyond the reach of the Internet, newspapers and other forms of communication, the key to a working democracy is to ensure that people from each of the country’s ethnic groups and regions are represented, Edwards said.
“It’s very difficult to get representation for everybody because they’re so diverse and so geographically separated,” he said.
Most of Snohomish County’s connections to Afghanistan are through people like Edwards, who risk their own lives in a place few outsiders understand.
Experts say it’s too soon to tell whether this week’s elections will move the country toward stability. It’s not clear how many potential voters were deterred by widespread insurgent attacks.
“I believe it’s possible to have successful elections in Afghanistan,” Edwards said. “But at this point, there may not be enough participation to make it a valid process.”
Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422, kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
