Afghans campaign Western style

Artwork encouraging people to vote has appeared on walls around Kandahar and other cities in the leadup to the presidential election. Photo / AP

With just days left in Afghanistan's presidential campaign, Abdullah Abdullah arrives in Kandahar for one of his last rallies before the election.

A cheering mass of supporters greeted him at the airport. The convoy of armoured SUVs shuttled Abdullah - along with his phalanx of advisers, security detail and journalists - through the city, leaving a trail of dust. The convoy swelled in size along the way as more joined. The resulting parade was a spectacular display of political mobilisation, unprecedented in Afghanistan, never mind Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban.

As Afghanistan heads to the polls tomorrow, there has been much lament over how little has changed since the last presidential election in 2009: the steady drum beat of insurgent attacks stubbornly persists, concerns over fraud continue to plague the nation. And yet, what is decidedly different is the heightened level of political participation across the country.

Afghan campaigns today increasingly mirror those in the West: rallies and debates have been introduced this year, and have been enthusiastically received.

Afghanistan's financial future hinges on it being relatively free of dispute. The country is at a critical moment militarily, as Nato forces plan to withdraw by the end of the year. It leaves behind an insurgency that is poised to continue.

Despite an economy that the World Bank has warned will shrink as the United States and other Western powers begin their military withdrawal, the country's 50 national and regional television channels are thriving ahead of the election.

Abdullah's campaign organiser for the southern provinces, Nimatullah Arghandabi, believes the simple act of campaigning in Kandahar is a remarkable thing. "This time, you see people in the thousands. The public has been educated about how democracy works, and how elections work. That is the greatest difference."

The two frontrunners in the race pose different paths for the country's future. Abdullah is considered an opposition leader whose victory would mean a departure from President Hamid Karzai's influence. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai is a technocrat and a reformer. He is the likeliest to disband patronage networks that have plagued Afghan politics. Third in line, according to a poll by ATR Consulting, is Zalmai Rassoul, who is considered close to the departing President.

Back in Kabul, the other frontrunner, Ghani, is hosting a rally at the 35,000-capacity Ghazi stadium. Ghani speaks of freedom, of justice, of anti-fraud measures.

After 30 minutes the speech ends, and almost immediately, men begin clambering towards the chain-link fence to get closer to him. Riot police wielding batons force them back. Outside, Ghani fans flood the streets. All the women supporters are ushered around the corner, where buses wait to take them home.

Mariam Wardak, a youth organiser, attributes the ebullience of this election to more young people getting involved. They have since graduated from universities, she added, and want to use their accumulated confidence and experience in something worthwhile.

Wardak also believes the televised debates are an important addition.

"Debates, rallies, all these things, have played such an important role in getting us to understand who the candidates are, but also they have helped us connect with them. That is new and exciting."

- Independent