Confidence and Feelings of Safety Low in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is due to go to the polls tomorrow in what will only be the third parliamentary election since the Taliban were removed from power in 2001. The process is under severe threat though, with serious security issues facing voters that choose to make their way to the ballot boxes. The Taliban is currently active in about 70% of the country and, as well as calling on people to boycott the election, there have been numerous attacks on voter registration centers. According to the BBC, at least 10 candidates have been killed so far and roughly one third of the country's polling centers will be closed due to security concerns.

Bringing the situation into sharp focus yesterday, the assassination of Kandahar police chief General Abdul Raziq, claimed by the Taliban, has led election commissioners to call for the suspension of voting in the province. The recommendation must first be approved by the national security council.

With this in mind, the latest figures from the Gallup World Poll should come as little surprise. Although the responses were collected before the most recent attacks, feelings of safety in July were already at a devastatingly low level - only 13 percent said that they feel safe walking alone at night in their local area, representing a fall from 36 percent in 2016. The story is the same for the confidence held in local police forces - down from 68 percent in 2016 to just 22 percent now. Confidence in the honesty of elections has never been high and this is currently represented by a figure of 19 percent.