The Hindu : International : Campaign begins for Afghan presidential polls

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 08, 2004

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International

Campaign begins for Afghan presidential polls

KABUL, SEPT. 7. Campaigning for Afghanistan's first direct presidential election began on Tuesday, a crucial step in the war-torn nation's troubled transition to democracy after the fall of the Taliban nearly three years ago.

The interim President, Hamid Karzai, and his 17 challengers have 30 days to lobby some 10.6 million Afghans registered for the vote.

Key issues are the snail's pace of reconstruction, persistent poverty and fragile security.

No big rallies marked the low-key start of the campaign. Yet, the outcome could be pivotal for a country still awash with guns, riven by ethnic animosities and mired in poverty.

Sole woman in field

Massooda Jalal, the only woman in the field, opened with a fiery appeal to widows at a U.N.-subsidised bakery in a war-scarred district near the capital's zoo.

About 50 women, almost all completely veiled, clapped wildly and prayed for their ``sister'' under a tree in the yard as she attacked the warlords who brought them suffering.

``Those people who betrayed you and destroyed your homes and who killed your loved ones, they have no place in my government,'' said Ms. Jalal, who wore a headscarf.

``Like a doctor, I want to treat Afghanistan's wounds ... like a mother, I will improve the life of the Afghan family,'' she said.

Mr. Karzai, strongly backed by the United States, is considered the favourite to become the first popularly elected head of state of Afghanistan.

But the bewildering field of candidates and tribal loyalties that fuelled more than 20 years of conflict could split the vote so widely that the incumbent would be forced into a run-off.

Officials say a second round could delay the result until November, stretching the nerves of security forces bracing for violence from Taliban-led militants.

A dozen election workers have been killed in shootings and bombings so far, and the capital is on edge after a car bomb on August 29 killed at least seven people at a U.S. security company.

U.S. and NATO troops are patrolling the capital and countryside, leaving it to thousands of newly trained Afghan national police and army troops to guard candidates and polling stations.

Many contenders

The contenders also include a string of warlords, an angry poet and a genteel former royal aide.

Posters for candidates such as the Hazara strongman Mohammed Mohaqeq have been plastered around Kabul.

Abdul Hadi Dabir, a rabble-rousing outsider, says he has sent tapes to radio stations plugging his campaign. — AP

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