Around nine million voters are going to the polls today for parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, a country plagued by militancy. Analysts believe that this election will help broaden the channels for Afghan people to participate in the political life of the country, laying the foundation for next year's presidential election and social stability. Therefore, it has received widespread attention.

He Wenping, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, highlighted the importance of the parliamentary elections.

"It will play a very solid foundation for the coming year's presidential election," she said.

However, the elections have been overshadowed by violence, and the Taliban, who vowed to disrupt the voting, have launched multiple attacks in recent weeks.

General Abdul Raziq, the country's top security officer, was assassinated in Kandahar province several days ago in an attack that has been claimed by the Taliban. At least ten candidates have been assassinated and hundreds of people killed and wounded in election-related attacks.

Mrs. He said the parliamentary elections have been hindered by Taliban militants for years. He said in their eyes that the parliament elections, and even the coming presidential elections, are backed by the United States, which is unacceptable for them.

Withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan is a precondition for a peace process for the Taliban militants, she said. "So this makes the peace process in Afghanistan stuck in a standoff."

The Taliban has huge territories in Afghanistan, with their own legal system and social structure, said the expert, adding that Taliban forces want to be the government as they grew stronger.

“They think under their ruling, things will be even better,” said He.

This may be a key factor that leads the peace talks into a deadlock, she added.

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