Afghanistan: Despite Flaws, Elections Essential for Nation Building

An editorial in The National suggests that no matter how flawed, elections in Afghanistan are an essential step toward building a national identity: “The national project has never taken firm root in Afghanistan – tribes often reject the sovereignty of the provincial governments, much less the federal government in Kabul. The elections officials who are risking their lives in the hinterlands are engaged in an effort of nation-building. Fragile as it is, the alternative is to abandon the country to fragmentation.”