As Taliban steps up attacks, can Afghanistan hold peaceful national polls?

[pakistani342]

The following article on Christian Science Monitor here says -- I guess so much for free and fair elections.

Wonder if this a particularly bad few days for Afghanistan or as are we now on the slippery part of the downward slope?

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Two recent Taliban attacks have raised concern about Afghanistan's preparedness for upcoming elections after Afghan security officials set an ambitious goal for polling in the country's violence-plagued hinterland.

The latest election security assessment comes as surprise to some election analysts, members of parliament, and provincial government officials who say that the security situation throughout the country has gotten worse, not better, since the 2009 election.

“In many parts of the country, people can’t move freely in their own districts or villages because militants from different groups are there," says Naeem Ayubzada, ...

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A female member of parliament from one of the provinces, who didn’t want to be identified for security reasons, says that her province is so insecure that she can only fly into the capital – driving on the roads is too unsafe.

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“The Taliban control everything in the districts,” she says. “At this point I can’t see any of the polling sites being able to open except for the ones in the [provincial] capital.”