KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Even before the bodies of five Afghan campaign workers were discovered murdered on the weekend, the commander of Canada's Task Force Kandahar knew insurgents were determined to disrupt next month's parliamentary elections.

Afghans will go to the polls to elect the 249 members of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of their parliament, on Sept. 18.

On Sunday, officials found the bodies of five kidnapped campaign aides working for a female candidate in the western province of Herat. The day before, a candidate from the same province was shot and killed on his way to a mosque.

The parliamentary election is "critically important," said Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance, because it is a grassroots expression from the population.

Establishing a credible government is key to the international effort in Afghanistan -- and for the international exit plan -- and last year's presidential vote and the upcoming parliamentary election are an important benchmark of progress.

"The insurgency will challenge this election. They've stated categorically that they will challenge this election with the use of terror and intimidation, to prevent the population from exercising its desire to vote," Vance said in a recent interview.

The security situation, particularly in the south, does not bode well.

Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission has decided not to open 938 of the planned polling stations because of security risks. There will be 5,897 centres open on election day.

Kandahar Governor Tooryalai Wesa, an Afghan-Canadian who returned two years ago to take up the post, has survived at least two assassination attempts and the mayor of Kandahar city, an Afghan-American, has also narrowly escaped attempts on his life.

The deputy mayor of Kandahar was not as fortunate. He was shot to death in April as he prayed in a mosque.

Unable to penetrate the security rings that surround high-level officials like the governor, insurgents have targeted lower level government workers.

According to reports, more than 500 tribal leaders have been assassinated in Kandahar province since the start of the war. In the Dand district, where Canadians have seen some success with their village-by-village counter-insurgency campaign, at least 12 maliks, who are elected village leaders, have been murdered.

Several government ministry workers have been gunned down in the streets.

The terror campaign has been an effective one. The Afghan government has struggled to find literate, capable staff willing to work for them in the insurgent hotbed of the south.

For candidates, the murders in Herat are a sad reminder but not a shock.

Fiazul Haq Mushkani, who is running in Kandahar city for the Wolesi Jirga, said safety is always a concern.

"Assassination and targeted killing is common in Afghanistan," Mushkani said.

Samina Gulah has the added risk of being a female candidate daring to run in ultra-conservative Kandahar.

The spectre of an assassin's gun or a bomb is always at the back of her mind.

"You worry too much when walking, travelling and meeting people," said Gulah. "The current situation is not suitable for an election."

Muhammad Esmail Khan Mujroh, a candidate in the Daman district, said the violence has affected his campaign.

"No doubt I am scared and one has to be scared in this situation, where many people have been killed," he said.

The Taliban have not claimed responsibility for the Herat murder but Mujroh is not waiting for official word. It's the Taliban, he said.

"Who else will do this?"