Posted on 01/29/2009 4:50:48 AM PST by markomalley
(AGI) - Kabul, 29 Jan. - The second ever presidential elections to be held in the troubled nation of Afghanistan are to take place on August 20. The announcement has come from the electoral commission. The constitution actually stipulates that the ballot should take place before May, but a postponement had already been decided as many areas are still inaccessible in winter and polling stations could not be set up. President in office, Hamid Karzai, has made it known that he intends to stand once again despite facing a clear drop in popularity due to the inability of Kabul's security forces to halt the Taleban offensive. Karzai, a Pashtun originating from the South, has led Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taleban regime, first as head of the transitory government and then as President following elections in 2004. Following rumours that it was about to dump Karzai, the White House has, through its spokesperson, Robert Gibbs, that it will continue to back the president. There has been talk of an exclusive meeting between US President, Barack Obama, with former Foreign Minister, Abdullah Abdullah, former Finance Minister, Asraf Ghani, former Interior Minister, Ali Ahmad Jalali, and Gul Agha Sherzai, Governor of the eastern Nangaha province, all possible presidential rivals to Karzai.
I was reading on the attached link that it is unconstitutional for them to delay the elections.
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