海角大神

Daud Niazi, a candidate in Afghanistan鈥檚 parliamentary elections on Saturday, was returning from a campaign event in his native Laghman Province when a group of gunmen suddenly appeared by the roadside. They forced his campaign caravan to a halt, robbed the passengers, and then ordered the vehicles to get moving.

As the convoy pulled away, the gunmen opened fire, shattering windshields, killing Mr. Niazi鈥檚 cousin, and leaving others wounded. The incident was the latest in a series of attacks against candidates. Many of the attacks are attributed to the Taliban.

But it wasn鈥檛 insurgents that were behind this grisly attack, it was a rival candidate, according to government officials. 础蹿驳丑补苍颈蝉迟补苍鈥檚 contentious campaign season, which came to a close this week ahead of Saturday鈥檚 polls, was marked as much by intercandidate violence and complex rivalries as it was by Taliban intimidation.

IN PICTURES: Afghanistan election

鈥淭here are some candidates that have ties to militias or warlords, who use guns to try to influence the elections,鈥� says Hassan Haqiyar, an Afghan political analyst and author. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have guns or money, it is hard to compete.鈥�

More than 2,500 candidates are running from 础蹿驳丑补苍颈蝉迟补苍鈥檚 34 provinces, with more than 600 in Kabul alone. However, poor security threatens the legitimacy of the vote in many areas. Authorities have closed about 1 in 8 polling centers because of security concerns, and it is likely that many more centers will remain out of operation in the south and east on polling day.

The Taliban vowed to disrupt the elections and have launched a campaign of intimidation in recent months, targeting election workers and campaigners. Some have been killed and others kidnapped and released, after pledging to quit their job.

The insurgents are likely to be behind the majority of preelection violence. But election watchdogs say that dozens of attacks that were originally attributed to the insurgents appear to actually be cases of intercandidate feuding.

In the central province of Ghor, rival candidates opened fire on one another in August, sparking an hours-long gun battle. A number of other incidents of violence in the province were initially reported as insurgent-related, but provincial officials now say that they suspect that candidates themselves might be involved.

In the northern province of Baghlan, gunmen recently fired on the campaign convoy of a candidate known simply as Narmgoy. Witnesses said that the culprit, which left the Narmgoy鈥檚 team unharmed, was the son of Shukria Isakhel, a rival candidate.

Ms. Isakhel admitted that her son was behind the incident but claimed that she did not order it. Her supporters say the attack was in reaction to Mr. Narmgoy鈥檚 campaign team鈥檚 distribution of cards with slanderous accusations against her, even suggesting sexual impropriety on her part.

In another part of Baghlan, a recent armed clash between supporters of candidate Obaidullah Ramin, the former agriculture minister and close ally of President Hamid Karzai and of candidate Ghulam Haidari, prompted the latter to withdraw from the race. 鈥淭here are too many warlords and powerful people who don鈥檛 allow others to run,鈥� he said.

In the northern province of Takhar, foreign forces may have become ensnared in a complex rivalry between candidates and local power brokers. Candidate Abdul Wahed Khorasani and some supporters were driving one morning early this month when a pair of American jets screamed towards them. They dropped a bomb that exploded near the vehicles, and then returned a few more times to drop more explosives. A dozen campaign workers were killed or wounded, including a number of Mr. Khorasani鈥檚 family members.

A US investigation determined that they killed Muhammad Amin, a commander of the insurgent group International Movement of Uzbekistan. But dozens of government officials, local leaders, and witnesses insist that only campaign workers were killed. One victim, Amanullah, had connections to a local Uzbek strongman and may have been confused with the insurgent commander.

Khorasani and some government officials insist that his election rivals, some of whom are backed by rival power brokers, passed on the faulty intelligence to the foreign forces.

鈥淭his was an attack on my campaign,鈥� said Khorasani. 鈥淏efore the attack my campaign was vibrant and committed, but afterwards it lost its life and color.鈥�

Authorities say that some rivalries are strictly due to the elections, but others stretch back decades. In some cases individuals have enmity dating from the anti-Soviet insurgency, when they may have been on opposite sides or in different insurgent groups, and in other cases from the civil war of the '90s.

In many instances local strongmen maintain militias and are able to intimidate rivals. 鈥淭here is no rule of law, while guns and money are easy to come by,鈥� says Mr. Haqiyar, the political analyst.

In the eastern province of Laghman, government officials and an election watchdog believe that a strongman (and current parliamentarian) known as Muhammad Qarar was behind the attack on candidate Niazi鈥檚 caravan. Despite repeated attempts, Mr. Qarar was not available for comment.

Qarar has ties to a militia, officials and locals say, which has been used to intimidate other candidates in his drive for reelection. In response, Niazi and other supporters formed a jirga, or meeting, of tribal elders and other notables in the area.

鈥淲e had decided that if the government doesn鈥檛 do anything [about Qarar], we will raise a [tribal army],鈥� says Niazi, the candidate. The participants also resolved to burn the houses of those who attacked them, following tribal custom. But gunmen started firing near this meeting as well, causing the gathering to disperse.

Qarar鈥檚 men then began to make threatening phone calls to Niazi鈥檚 campaign staff. Eventually his campaign manager even resigned. But Niazi is not cowed. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had a tragedy in our campaign,鈥� he says. 鈥淪ome people don鈥檛 want to work for us anymore out of fear, but no matter what happens I will never quit.鈥�

IN PICTURES: Afghanistan election