Afghanistan election

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Afghanistan Postpones May Elections
Afghanistan Postpones
May Elections
Jan 24, 2010 7:05 AM CST

Afghanistan Postpones May Elections

Panel pushes vote to Sept., cites need for reform, lack of funds

(Newser) - Afghanistan's independent election commission has confirmed it is postponing parliamentary elections until the fall due to a lack of funding, security concerns, and logistical challenges. Commissioner Fazel Ahmed Manawi also told reporters today the delay will allow time for electoral reforms—a move likely to please Western countries pressing for...

American UN Envoy Plotted to Oust Karzai

Scheme to force out Afghan president as fraud surfaced

(Newser) - The No. 2 United Nations official in Afghanistan sought to replace Hamid Karzai with a more Western-friendly figure as widespread election fraud surfaced earlier this year, officials say. The top UN official in Kabul, Kai Eide, says Peter Galbraith approached him with a plan to enlist Joe Biden to help...

Karzai Sworn In, Vows to Fight Corruption

Afghan prez promises to take over country's security in 5 years

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai vowed to fight corruption today after he was sworn in to a second 5-year term as president of Afghanistan. Karzai, whose election victory was tainted by widespread allegations of vote-rigging, said his government would learn from "our mistakes and shortcomings of the last eight years." The...

Karzai's Not So Bad&mdash; By Afghan Standards
Karzai's Not So Bad—
By Afghan Standards
BRET STEPHENS
Nov 10, 2009 1:23 AM CST

Karzai's Not So Bad— By Afghan Standards

Blame NATO missteps, not corruption

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai's no saint but he's much better than Mullah Omar, civil war, or the murderous Soviet stooges that ruled Afghanistan for many years, writes Bret Stephens. It has become fashionable among "neo-neo-cons" who have suddenly discovered the virtues of good governance to slam Karzai's tainted administration, but history...

Afghan Governor Rejects Karzai Election

Dispute could spark fresh fighting in northern province

(Newser) - A powerful warlord-turned-governor's rejection of Hamid Karzai's election victory is raising fears that one of Afghanistan's most stable provinces could collapse into fighting. Atta Mohammed Noor—the only one of Afghanistan's 34 governors to have openly supported Karzai's rival, Abdullah Abdullah—has denounced Karzai as an "unlawful president."...

Karzai Promises Change; Taliban Disses 'Puppet'

Insurgent 'brothers' reject the Afghan president's call for unity

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai made some sweeping but non-specific promises to banish corruption and reach out to opponents today in his first press conference since being re-elected by default. The Afghan president also reached out to "Taliban brothers," urging them to "embrace their land," but his overtures were...

Obama Calls for New Afghan Chapter

Karzai congratulated, told to clean up his government

(Newser) - President Obama congratulated Hamid Karzai on his "messy" election victory yesterday while warning him that it was time to clean up corruption in his government. "I emphasized that this has to be a point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter," said Obama,...

Karzai, US Stuck With Each Other
 Karzai, US Stuck 
 With Each Other 
ANALYSIS
Nov 2, 2009 4:04 AM CST

Karzai, US Stuck With Each Other

Afghan prez must act quickly to restore legitimacy

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai is suddenly the only game in town after Abdullah Abdullah’s withdrawal from a runoff election, and the Obama administration must figure out how to restore legitimacy to the Afghan president’s government and extend his influence outside of Kabul. It's critical that Karzai wins back the support...

Jarrett: Abdullah Quitting Isn't a Complication

Says election up to Afghan gov't; Obama decision may be delayed

(Newser) - Senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett says Abdullah Abdullah's withdrawal from next weekend's runoff election in Afghanistan won't complicate the White House's decision-making process on a war strategy. But Jarrett tells George Stephanopoulos that the president's decision could slide back to late November. “The President will make a decision...

Abdullah Pulls Out of Runoff
 Abdullah 
 Pulls Out 
 of Runoff 


AFGHANISTAN ELECTION
Nov 1, 2009 7:23 AM CST

Abdullah Pulls Out of Runoff

Cites Karzai's refusal to reform election system

(Newser) - The only contender to unseat Afghan President Hamid Karzai today followed through on his threat to boycott the runoff election slated for Nov. 7. Citing Karzai's refusal to overhaul the election system as impetus for his decision, Abdullah Abdullah declared a “transparent election is not possible” at a news...

Karzai Challenger Plans to Call for Boycott

But spokesman leaves room for late maneuvering

(Newser) - Afghan presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah plans to boycott next week's runoff against Hamid Karzai and instead call for postponement of the vote until the spring, his campaign manager said today. "As of now," Abdullah plans to call for a boycott during a press conference tomorrow, he said. Abdullah...

Karzai Foe Set to Pull Out of Afghan Runoff

Talks have broken down between Abdullah, president

(Newser) - Talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abdullah have broken down, and Abdullah is likely to pull out of next week's presidential runoff, a person with knowledge of the talks said today. An announcement could come as early as Saturday but more likely Sunday, the person said.

Public Backs Afghan Troop Surge 47%-43%
Public Backs Afghan Troop Surge 47%-43%
Poll Numbers
Oct 28, 2009 11:21 AM CDT

Public Backs Afghan Troop Surge 47%-43%

....and majority support holding off on decision until after runoff

(Newser) - Public support for a troop surge in Afghanistan is surging, too, according to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll . Support for a troop increase edged out opposition 47% to 43%, after trailing opposition 44% to 51% last month. But 58% also support waiting until after the runoff election to make...

UN Staffers Among Dozen Killed in Kabul Attacks

Taliban claims responsibility for attacks on guest houses

(Newser) - Six United Nations staffers and six others were killed today when militants armed with automatic weapons, grenades, and suicide vests stormed two guest houses in downtown Kabul where international workers were sleeping. One of the dead was American. The nationalities of the others was not immediately known. Rockets hit another...

Karzai's Rival May Boycott Runoff Vote

Abdullah demands overhaul of Afghan election commission

(Newser) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s strongest political challenger may boycott next month's planned runoff election if the country’s election commission is not completely purged of Karzai supporters. Abdullah Abdullah has consistently charged that without a commission overhaul the vote-rigging which marred the original election is bound to be repeated....

Karzai Nixes Power-Sharing Government
 Karzai Nixes 
 Power-Sharing 
 Government 
AFGHAN ELECTION
Oct 25, 2009 8:10 AM CDT

Karzai Nixes Power-Sharing Government

Abdullah says result will be same without new election officials

(Newser) - Both candidates for Afghanistan's presidency focused on the Nov. 7 runoff yesterday, with Hamid Karzai declaring that there would be no power-sharing government, while challenger Abdullah Abdullah voiced concern that without the ouster of top election officials, the tainted outcome would be no different. "So long as these people...

Obama Uses Troop Bump to Pressure Karzai
 Obama Uses 
 Troop Bump 
 to Pressure Karzai 




Afghanistan strategy
Oct 22, 2009 9:14 AM CDT

Obama Uses Troop Bump to Pressure Karzai

US wants clean election, and could support a coalition government

(Newser) - The US built pressure on Hamid Karzai yesterday, with both Barack Obama and John Kerry signaling that a troop increase could hinge on a successful runoff election, and that the Obama administration would be receptive to a power-sharing deal between Karzai and his chief rival. A coalition government could provide...

UN to Sack Half of Afghan Election Officials

Ban Ki-Moon plans measures to ensure widespread fraud isn't repeated

(Newser) - The United Nations learned "quite a painful lesson" from the widespread fraud in Afghanistan's August election, and aims to rout out corrupt voting supervisors next time around, Ban Ki-Moon said yesterday. The UN secretary-general said more than half of the election officials should be removed before next month's runoff...

Karzai Took Major Arm-Twisting to OK Runoff

Round 2 of Afghan election no panacea, either

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai's concession yesterday that an election runoff was necessary may have brought Afghanistan back from political paralysis, but another ballot is no sure solution. The potential for fraud—more than a quarter of first round ballots were thrown out—has not abated, the New York Times notes. Today Abdullah...

Afghan Runoff Set for Nov. 7
 Afghan Runoff Set for Nov. 7 
Oct 20, 2009 7:37 AM CDT

Afghan Runoff Set for Nov. 7

Karzai accepts results of UN-backed recount

(Newser) - Afghanistan's election commission has ordered a runoff election for Nov. 7 after a fraud investigation dropped President Hamid Karzai's votes below 50% of the total. Karzai accepted the fraud panel finding in a press conference and endorsed a runoff election. The Independent Election Commission said it did not want to...

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