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| Sunday, 11 July 2004 |
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Afghans to hold presidential polls in October KABUL, Saturday (Reuters) Afghanistan will hold a landmark presidential election on October 9, the United Nations said on Friday, despite widespread violence by Islamic militants who have vowed to derail its first direct vote. But parliamentary polls, supposed to be at the same time, will be delayed until April, chairman of the U.N.-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body Zakim Shah, announced on state TV. Shah said conditions for elections would improve in coming months but the electoral body called on the international community to step up security assistance. "These efforts will greatly enhance the legitimacy of the electoral process and the authority of the future assemblies," he said. The U.S.-backed government of President Hamid Karzai had hoped to hold both elections in June, then September, but logistical problems and security worries forced delays. The White House issued a statement saying President George W. Bush welcomed the scheduling of the elections as "a critical step forward in Afghanistan's transition to democracy". "The decision is a sign that the Afghan people will not allow the Taliban and other terrorist elements to stand in the way of their democratic future," the statement said. Shah said political parties, scholars, tribal elders and others feared a drive to disarm factional militias was going too slowly to allow early parliamentary elections. He said the JEMB had considered delaying both polls but concluded, "that the interests of stability would not have been served by further postponement." U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed the timing of both polls. His spokesman said the additional time before the parliamentary poll was "a very valuable opportunity to create better conditions for the holding of a free and fair parliamentary election, which the government and the international community should not miss." The Taliban and allied militants have vowed to disrupt what are billed not only as Afghanistan's first-ever free polls but also a crucial test of U.S. nation-building efforts. Hundreds have died in militant attacks this year and the 20,000-strong U.S.-led military force pursuing the Taliban and their allies has warned of more violence ahead of the polls. In recent weeks, guerrillas killed several election workers and 16 bus passengers found carrying voter registration cards. Thursday, a landmine blast killed a woman working to register voters in the eastern province of Nangahar. The United Nations said such attacks underlined the need for NATO to stick to its pledge to send more troops to protect the elections. Karzai, installed after U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban for harboring the al Qaeda network that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, is widely seen as presidential favorite. But at least a dozen rivals have indicated an intention to challenge him. With voting expected to go along ethnic lines, a fractured vote could force a run-off. More than 6 million of an electorate of some 10 million have registered to vote, but militant attacks and slow militia disarmament have raised concerns about how free voting can be. Some argue the concerns are sufficient to delay both polls. "We were of the view that both elections should have been delayed since we have insecurity in the south and we have been witnessing a buildup of tensions in the north too," said Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, who plans to run against Karzai. But Abdul Hafiz Mansoor, a senior member of the Northern Alliance faction, called the delay in the parliamentary election "unconstitutional" since polls are meant to be simultaneous. Analysts say Bush wants a foreign policy success in Afghanistan to balance his problems in Iraq ahead of his own November re-election bid. |
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