Afghan voters swayed by beauty, not brains

Faced with a sea of unknown faces, many Afghans confessed yesterday they saw little option but pluck for the pretty girl, the TV star or the good Muslim in a turban when voting for provincial councillors.

About 3,400 people ranging from elderly tribal chiefs to young students - almost a tenth of them women - ran for provincial council seats in elections held simultaneously with presidential polls on Thursday.

In capital Kabul, a bustling city with a teaming population of four million, 524 men and women were in the race for 29 seats, their names, pictures and electoral symbols sprawled across a giant, confusing five-page ballot paper.

Councillors have no legislative power and are meant instead to voice the needs and concerns of local communities to national parliament and help mediate disputes at the local level, also working on issues such as development.

Candidates must be Afghan, without a criminal record, linked to no armed group and aged at least 18. There were 420 seats available in 34 provincial council elections and a quarter were reserved for women.

"I can't remember who I voted for," said Abdul Bashir, a 21-year-old guard, when asked about his choice for Kabul council representative. "I just opened the page and picked a name," he smiled.

But 18-year-old Ajmal allowed himself to get lost, trawling page after page until he locked eyes with the picture of a young woman.

"I voted for a girl," the high school student said. "I can't remember her name but she was pretty," said the student, carrying a skate board under his arm and wearing jeans and a bright T-shirt.

"I went through the list and saw a girl more beautiful than the others, so I voted for her," said another young man refusing to give his name. In conservative Afghanistan, young men and girls rarely mix before marriage.

Mohammad Edris, 22, also voted for a girl, but one he knew from the small screen after her popular performance in an American Idol-style TV talent show, called Afghan Star.

"I voted for Farida Tarana. I voted for her because I like her. She's beautiful and a good singer," the young man said.

Another voter called Islamuddin had little trouble choosing a representative for the provincial council. He looked no further than a certain Ali, hoping he was of the same Hazara ethnicity, whose minority status means they are sidelined in power.