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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Afghan Election to Take Place Oct. 9 |
| 2004-07-10 |
| Afghanistan's oft-delayed presidential election will take place Oct. 9, its top electoral official said Friday, but a parliamentary vote originally scheduled to be held simultaneously was put off until the spring. The vote is seen as a referendum on the rebuilding of this war-ravaged nation and a test of the ability of Afghan and international forces to keep the peace. It will be the first direct election for president in the country's history. Zakim Shah, head of the joint Afghan-U.N. electoral commission, announced on state television that the body "decided to hold the presidential election on Mizan 18" - a date in Afghanistan's calendar that corresponds to Oct. 9. He said the parliamentary vote would likely be in April or May, and appealed to Afghan authorities and the international community to do more to improve security "to create a more secure atmosphere for the candidates and the voters." State Department spokesman Richard Boucher welcomed the decision. "We think that the elections will mark another major step in Afghanistan's transition to a constitutional and representative government and constitute another milestone," he said. "We join the Afghan government in fully supporting the electoral body's decision, and we'll do our part to assist these historic elections," he added. U.S.-backed interim President Hamid Karzai is expected to win the vote for the top job, but he faces at least a half-dozen rivals in this ethnically and regionally fractured country. It is not clear whether he will garner the 50 percent majority needed for outright victory, meaning a run-off two weeks later may be necessary. Afghans appear genuinely enthusiastic about the chance to vote for their leaders, and more than 6 million of the estimated 10 million eligible have signed up so far, nearly 40 percent of them women. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghanistan's oft-delayed presidential election will take place Oct. 9, its top electoral official said Friday, but a parliamentary vote originally scheduled to be held simultaneously was put off until the spring. The vote is seen as a referendum on the rebuilding of this war-ravaged nation and a test of the ability of Afghan and international forces to keep the peace. It will be the first direct election for president in the country's history. Publishing facts not attributed to a source: journalistic crack. The statement hightlighted in bold is absurd enough. Hell, I thought the Afgan election was to vote for leaders, not a referendum on rebuilding and an international presence. I guess the writer's ideas on journalism matches his ideas on politics. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-07-10 8:07:59 AM |