tagged w/ Afghanistan Elections
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Evidence is mounting that fraud in Afghanistan’s latest parliamentary election was so widespread that it could affect the results in a third of provinces, calling into question the credibility of a vote that was an important test of the American and Afghan effort to build a stable and legitimate government.Evidence is mounting that fraud in Afghanistan’s latest parliamentary election... more
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In Afghanistan, a raft of former guerrilla chieftains and commanders implicated in war crimes are likely to win re-election to parliament in polls that took place this past week.In Afghanistan, a raft of former guerrilla chieftains and commanders implicated in war... more
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Angry eligible voters in eastern Afghanistan scuffled with police last week, complaining that the closure of polling stations due to security hampered their democratic rights.Angry eligible voters in eastern Afghanistan scuffled with police last week,... more
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The Afghan government has decided not to open more than 900 voting stations during next month's parliamentary election, citing security concerns. The closures will affect nearly 15 percent of the country's 6,835 polling stations, and could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters.The Afghan government has decided not to open more than 900 voting stations during... more
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Concerns persist about Afghanistan’s ability to hold a fair parliamentary election in little more than a month. One of the biggest concerns is that the insecurity will open fresh opportunities for fraud, especially for the creation of so-called ghost polling centers. The presidential election last year was marred by numerous cases in which hundreds of ballots were recorded for a single candidate — usually President Karzai — in places where no one had actually voted. Election officials ended up throwing out more than a million votes.Concerns persist about Afghanistan’s ability to hold a fair parliamentary... more
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The results of Afghanistan’s fraud-scarred elections have perhaps irredeemably mired the country’s near future and the war effort. It was hoped in the West that the election would provide the country with legitimate leadership, but it turned out to be almost the opposite. The run-up to the poll was pockmarked by an increase in Taliban attacks and the vote itself saw faked ballots across numerous precincts. Despite a long-fought effort to secure a second round of voting (and perhaps a more legitimate result) the opposition candidate dropped out, leaving President Hamid Karzai in office accompanied by the shadow of corruption.
Among the international observers, the military personnel, the diplomats and the hardened journalists was Jeff Antebi: not exactly a journalist, but certainly a long way from his previous role in the music industry as the founder of Waxploitation. He was a photographer with a singular focus: to capture the mechanics of elections in countries in the throes of conflict. Afghanistan was only one stop on an ambitious (and on-going) tour of countries from Haiti to Thailand to Iraq.
Antebi left for Afghanistan without the experience of a traditional conflict reporter. "I had so little security training that's usually required for these places, so the night before I left for Afghanistan, I had experienced people giving me crib notes on how to not get kidnapped," he told me. "What to do if I get kidnapped. How to know when to make a move and incapacitate a cab driver if you think he's in on a kidnapping. How to not get poisoned. How you need so sit away from windows at restaurants. How you need to not sit near portable heaters outdoors. How it's better to drive in a diesel car because the gas tank is less likely to explode if hit by a bullet. Hours and hours on what seat to sit in in an airplane, what room to sleep in in a hotel."
Though his goal wasn't to go as a journalist, Antebi found himself with many of the same tools and techniques at his disposal: a driver, an interpreter and a fixer. "I leaned pretty heavily on my fixer. His style was really good – he’d let me be out photographing and he would just blend into crowds and keep listening to the tone of the crowd. He'd spend a lot of time maneuvering and listening and then he’d say ‘Okay it’s time to leave’. Crowd was about to just go apeshit on any westerner at a bombing scene, and then he said put cameras in backpack and we need to get out of here."
Antebi has also covered elections in Haiti and more recently the insurgency in Southern Thailand. He plans to continue his work in other conflict zones and we've invited him to contribute here at the Current News Blog. Check out more of his photos on his website and follow him on Twitter. Check out more of his photos on his website and follow him on Twitter.
Recently on the Current News Blog:
- Iran students' day of protest
- Copenhagen backgrounder - A roundup of pre-conference reading
- Will TARP cuts mean a jobs program? - Real Recovery
- Obama loses fans in Turkey over Afghanistan
- Meet Zouhair al Jezairy, my new Iraqi journalist friendThe results of Afghanistan’s fraud-scarred elections have perhaps irredeemably... more
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The government of Afghanistan has drafted proposed changes to its election laws that would remove all three foreign members from the body that investigates fraud, limit the number of women in parliament and establish a host of new qualifications for candidates to run for office.The government of Afghanistan has drafted proposed changes to its election laws that... more
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Afghanistan announced this past week that their country has postponed parliamentary elections because of a lack of funds. The announcement, five months after the presidential election descended into a ballot-stuffing farce, will deepen global concern that graft and logistical problems are undermining democracy in one of the world's poorest and most corrupt nations.Afghanistan announced this past week that their country has postponed parliamentary... more
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The results of Afghanistan’s fraud-scarred elections have perhaps irredeemably mired the country’s near future and the war effort. It was hoped in the West that the election would provide the country with legitimate leadership, but it turned out to be almost the opposite. The run-up to the poll was pockmarked by an increase in Taliban attacks and the vote itself saw faked ballots across numerous precincts. Despite a long-fought effort to secure a second round of voting (and perhaps a more legitimate result) the opposition candidate dropped out, leaving President Hamid Karzai in office accompanied by the shadow of corruption.
Among the international observers, the military personnel, the diplomats and the hardened journalists was Jeff Antebi: not exactly a journalist, but certainly a long way from his previous role in the music industry as the founder of Waxploitation. He was a photographer with a singular focus: to capture the mechanics of elections in countries in the throes of conflict. Afghanistan was only one stop on an ambitious (and on-going) tour of countries from Haiti to Thailand to Iraq.
Antebi left for Afghanistan without the experience of a traditional conflict reporter. "I had so little security training that's usually required for these places, so the night before I left for Afghanistan, I had experienced people giving me crib notes on how to not get kidnapped," he told me. "What to do if I get kidnapped. How to know when to make a move and incapacitate a cab driver if you think he's in on a kidnapping. How to not get poisoned. How you need so sit away from windows at restaurants. How you need to not sit near portable heaters outdoors. How it's better to drive in a diesel car because the gas tank is less likely to explode if hit by a bullet. Hours and hours on what seat to sit in in an airplane, what room to sleep in in a hotel."
Though his goal wasn't to go as a journalist, Antebi found himself with many of the same tools and techniques at his disposal: a driver, an interpreter and a fixer. "I leaned pretty heavily on my fixer. His style was really good – he’d let me be out photographing and he would just blend into crowds and keep listening to the tone of the crowd. He'd spend a lot of time maneuvering and listening and then he’d say ‘Okay it’s time to leave’. Crowd was about to just go apeshit on any westerner at a bombing scene, and then he said put cameras in backpack and we need to get out of here."
Antebi has also covered elections in Haiti and more recently the insurgency in Southern Thailand. He plans to continue his work in other conflict zones and we've invited him to contribute here at the Current News Blog. Check out more of his photos on his website and follow him on Twitter.
FROM THE NEWS BLOG: http://blogs.current.com/news/2009/12/08/photography-in-conflict-jeff-antebi-covers-the-afghanistan-election/
Jeff's site: http://jeffantebi.com
Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JeffAntebiThe results of Afghanistan’s fraud-scarred elections have perhaps irredeemably... more
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