NATO, Obama Administration Back Afghan Decision on August Vote

NATO and the Obama administration backed the Afghan electoral commission’s decision to uphold the Aug. 20 date for presidential elections, saying it provides the best opportunity to ensure security and allow a fair vote.

The commission’s announcement came after Afghan President Hamid Karzai issued a weekend decree calling for an April election, in line with the constitution. Karzai’s opponents said he may have been trying to gain electoral advantage in his bid for re-election by catching rival candidates unprepared.

The August date will allow NATO to deploy sufficient forces “to provide the maximum possible support for the electoral process,” alliance spokesman James Appathurai told a press briefing. It gives all candidates “an opportunity to participate on an equal basis in a transparent, fair, and open competition,” said Gordon Duguid, a State Department spokesman.

The issue raises a new domestic political wrangle for Karzai, 51, as he seeks a second five-year term amid increasing criticism from the Obama administration. Backed by former President George W. Bush, Karzai has been Afghanistan’s only leader since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban following al-Qaeda’s September 2001 attacks on the Pentagon and New York.

Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission yesterday confirmed the election date it set in January, Noor Mohammad Noor, a commission spokesman, said in a telephone interview from the capital, Kabul. Karzai issued his decree on Feb. 28.

Fairness, Transparency

An April vote isn’t possible because “most parts of Afghanistan are inaccessible due to harsh weather” before then, the commission said in its January decision. Many Afghans would be unable to register or vote and “fairness and transparency would be out of the question,” the panel said.

Afghanistan’s Constitution calls for Karzai’s current term to end May 21, and requires an election 30 to 60 days before the incumbent leaves office. Karzai ordered that voting be held 30 days before his departure, “according to the constitution.”

The commission has said it is more important to set a date that encourages a fair election, rather than sticking to the terms of the 2004 constitution, which doesn’t address the issue of weather. The commission repeated yesterday that the later date is necessary to prepare for the balloting.

Deputy parliament speaker Mirwais Yasini, who has said he may run against Karzai, told Al-Jazeera television in an interview that some constitutional solution should be found to hold voting in the Afghan summer months.

Critical of Karzai

As President Barack Obama directs an overhaul of U.S. policies toward Afghanistan and Pakistan, his administration has increased criticism of Karzai’s government. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in January that Karzai’s rule has been “plagued by limited capacity and widespread corruption.” Last month, Obama ordered 17,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan to battle the Taliban and allied terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda.