OPPOSITION POLITICIANS in Afghanistan have accused President Hamid Karzai of constitutional brinkmanship that threatens to turn Afghanistan into “a new Zimbabwe” after he called for a snap presidential election to be held in April.
Karzai called yesterday for the poll to be held before April 21st, despite the country’s independent election commission warning that millions of voters would be disenfranchised by the insurgency in the south and snow-clogged roads in the mountainous north.
Barack Obama’s administration, which is believed to be losing patience with Karzai’s corruption-ridden government, formally lodged its disapproval, saying that the election should take place on August 21st, the date set by the Afghan election commission.
However, the harshest criticism came from Ashraf Ghani, a former finance minister and World Bank official seen as one of Karzai’s most formidable electoral opponents. “A very dangerous first step has been taken that, if it’s not checked, could lead us to the very unfortunate situation of Kenya or Zimbabwe,” Ghani said. It was “a very perilous position”, he added.
The two African countries had become troubled after “laws were violated and checks and balances weren’t insisted upon”, he said.
Karzai’s announcement prompted frantic political activity in Kabul, with opposition groups scrambling to pick candidates.
Ghani publicly declared his intention to run on local television, while Mirwais Yasini, the deputy speaker of the Afghan lower house, tipped as a potential election winner, told this reporter he also intended to take part.
Most officials in Kabul are still working on the assumption that early elections are not possible.
One UN official said that although the organisation had been conducting “scenario planning” in recent days, it would be impossible even to arrange ballot papers on time. Most of the extra Nato troops heading for Afghanistan to help improve security conditions will not arrive by April.
Afghan defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak told a Washington conference on Thursday that Taliban violence would make an April poll impossible. One election official involved in the months of planning already completed said an early poll could be achieved, but that the result “would be open to too many flaws”.
The conventional diplomatic wisdom in Kabul is that Karzai does not expect to fight an early election but wants to wrong-foot his opponents, who have demanded that he stands down on May 21st, as the constitution demands. There is huge constitutional uncertainty, however, about who would run the country until fresh elections could be held.
Karzai wants to remain in power, but some opposition parties have demanded a caretaker president, particularly if he stands as a candidate for re-election.
Ghani said Karzai should be allowed to stay in power, but be stripped of most executive powers to deny him an electoral advantage. – (Guardian service)