|
Rabbani opposes delay to Afghan parliament vote
Former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani on Monday criticised the postponement of a parliamentary election until April, saying it was against the spirit of the constitution and nurtured public mistrust. Afghanistan had planned to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in June, but logistical problems, attacks by Taliban militants and the slow pace of disarming factional militias forced delays. The presidential election, which President Hamid Karzai is widely expected to contest and win, is to take place on October 9 with the parliamentary one scheduled for April. "This (the delay) will create an atmosphere of mistrust and further deepen it, and I think this will not work for the benefit of strengthening law or stability," the silver-bearded Rabbani, 66, told Reuters at his Kabul residence.Afghanistan's new constitution, adopted in January, called for every effort to be made to hold the two elections together. Rabbani said the decision to delay parliamentary polls until spring could harm Karzai's prospects in the October vote, with disgruntled parliamentary candidates likely to lobby against him. "Parliamentary candidates will try to discourage people from voting for the presidential candidate because of the postponement," Rabbani said. "So this will not benefit Karzai either," added the former Kabul University theology lecturer. Rabbani heads the Jamiat-e-Islami faction made up of leaders of the "mujahideen", or "holy warriors", who ousted the Soviets in the 1980s and then fought against the hardline Islamic Taliban regime after it took power in 1996. Many senior members command private militias who flout central authority in the north and west. Analysts say a nationwide drive to disarm them could weaken figures like Rabbani, who they suspect could resort to force to coerce voters. Karzai has said that factional forces are a greater risk to stability than Islamic militants like the Taliban, who oppose his government and the elections and have killed hundreds of people in a wave of attacks in the last year. Karzai's comments came two months after he had held talks with factional leaders including Rabbani during which mujahideen heavyweights said the president had agreed to share power in his government in return for their support for his candidacy. Rabbani said on Monday that the timing of parliamentary polls, which his Jamiat faction will contest, was tantamount to a reversal by Karzai of the agreement. He also argued that Taliban militants would have a greater opportunity to sabotage the elections if they were delayed. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-07-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=38505 |