It’s election day in both Germany and Afghanistan–and both are quite significant for numerous reasons, and exist on opposite ends of the “democratized” spectrum.
Also: they make for an interesting pair, given that the elections today can both be linked to US military occupations (although Germany had had prior democratic experience that Afghanistan cannot claim).
Germany
Via the NYT: Germans Vote in Close-Fought Election
Germans were voting on Sunday in a nailbitingly close and often bitterly fought election that will set the agenda for reform of Europe’s largest economy.The Christian Democrats (CDU) under Angela Merkel have consistently led the opinion polls and she has been generally expected to become chancellor, displacing Gerhard Schroeder, whose centre-left government has held power for seven years.
But with many of the 62 million voters undecided on the eve of the vote, it was unclear if she could muster enough support to form the centre-right coalition she says is needed to push through deep reforms of Germany’s ailing economy.
“It’s going to be a thriller,” said Christl Schulz, one of a group dressed in traditional Bavarian costume who were voting before going to church in Brunnthal, south of Munich.
Here’s the BBC’s story.
WaPo has the latest: No Clear Cut Winner in German Election
German voters ended the reign of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s ruling coalition Sunday, but split their ballots among so many different parties that no group was immediately able to cobble together a new government, according to exit polls.Although Schroeder’s seven-year career as chancellor appeared to be in severe jeopardy, his chief rival, Angela Merkel, also had a disappointing day. Her coalition of Christian Democrats and Free Democrats fell short of winning a majority in the German Parliament, exit polls showed, raising the prospect of political gridlock in the near term.
Merkel appeared before a crowd of supporters about 30 minutes after the polls closed to acknowledge that she lacked the votes to declare herself Germany’s new chancellor. She said she would open negotiations immediately with the country’s other parties — including Schroeder’s Social Democrats — in hopes of forging a new alliance to govern Germany, something that could take days or even weeks to sort out.
And so this year’s elections will become a great example of coalitional government for my Comparative Government class in the Spring.
Afghanistan
Via the NYT: Afghans Turn Out to Vote Despite Scattered Attacks
Afghans turned out eagerly to vote today in their first democratic parliamentary elections in 35 years, expressing hope for a better future and for a government that will be answerable to the people, despite a number of scattered attacks around the country.
See Matthew Shugart here and especially here in regards to the voting method being used in Afghanistan and its implications. He also comments on turnout here.
Publius Pundit Publius Pundit – Blogging the democratic revolution“>is tracking the election in Afghanistan.
WaPo has the latest on the Afghan elections: Despite Threats of Violence, Afghans Took to Polls
Hundreds of thousands of proud voters flocked to schools, mosques and tents across Afghanistan Sunday to cast ballots in the nation’s first legislative elections since 1969, as threats by militants to disrupt the vote with violent attacks largely failed to materialize.However several polling centers here in the capital and in rural areas south of the city were almost deserted by late morning. By late afternoon some observer organizations were predicting that the turnout nationwide would prove far lower than the 70 percent of voters who showed up for Afghanistan’s landmark presidential election last October.
“The low turnout was very obvious in districts all over the country,” said Nader Nadery, chairman of the Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan, which deployed about 7,000 monitors to the roughly 6,300 polling centers. Elections officials said that on Monday they would announce how many of the 12.5 million registered voters participated.
