Afghanistan. I wonder how they can hold "elections" in a country where much if it is controlled by something other than the government? What do such "elections" mean?

But TV crews and photographers were allowed to join his tour of the gleaming white building, the third such event since Sunday for a leader usually confined to his fortified palace because of concerns for his safety.

After a slow start, voter registration has taken off. The UN recently reported that more than 10 million people have now been registered to vote. In fact, the problem now is too many voters, rather than too few. The number of people now registered to vote is several hundred thousand larger than the estimated number of people eligible to vote, and most observers believe that many people have registered more than once. The extent of the voter fraud is hard to estimate, and it is unknown whether it is significant enough to prevent the holding of fair elections. Fair elections may also be hindered by the absence of election observers. Many groups that observe elections, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (the OSCE), have declined to participate in the Afghan elections because of a pervading lack of security. Nevertheless, the UN believes it has sufficient checks in place to prevent voter fraud on election day and is confident that a fair election can take place.

Insecurity in Afghanistan
Afghanistan also has serious problems, many of which are interconnected. Much of the countryside is controlled by warlords, drug-lords and Taliban supporters. Their power is often rooted in ethnic affiliations and the money supplied by the booming drug trade. The result has been a chronic lack of security. The warlords, the drug trade, and the lack of security are inter-related problems that the central government seems incapable of solving on its own.

In many provinces outside Kabul, security forces are controlled by local military strongmen as a means of acquiring and maintaining political power. This problem is exacerbated by the sheer numbers of armed combatants and military equipment under the control of these warlords. So far, the “governors” of the various provinces have maintained their independence from the weak central government. These warlords have repeatedly fought one another over issues such as control over the drug trade and to expand their territories.