Afghan president seeks May election

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An Afghan soldier runs to the rescue of a wounded U.S. colleague during a graduation ceremony of Afghan medical soldiers on Saturday. (RAHMAT GUL / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- President Hamid Karzai declared Saturday that Afghanistan's presidential election should be held within the next two months, in keeping with the country's constitution.

Afghanistan's independent election commission earlier had pushed the vote back to Aug. 20 because of security and logistical concerns.

In recent weeks, however, Karzai was under increasing pressure from opponents who accused him of using the delay to illegally extend his term, which ends May 21.

Saturday's move puts the question of the vote's constitutionality squarely at the feet of the commission, but risks putting Karzai further at odds with his western allies who supported the later election date as a practical reality in a war-ravaged country.

No matter when the vote is held, Canada's top military commander in Afghanistan says they are prepared to deal with security, even if it means boosting troop levels.

"We do have the flexibility, of course, to extend rotations, or overlap rotations to get more power on the ground," Brig.-Gen. Jon Vance said. "I'm quite confident here that we can handle whatever comes down."

Vance said Canadians' role here is to react to the security situation on the ground, whether a month from now or at the end of the summer, when fighting is often at its peak.

"We can react faster and better than most people can push us around," Vance said. "In fact, this much warning is a luxury, quite frankly."

Meanwhile, U.S. deaths in Afghanistan increased threefold during the first two months of 2009 compared with the same period last year, after thousands more troops deployed and commanders ramped up winter operations against an increasingly violent insurgency.

Twenty-nine U.S. troops died in Afghanistan the first two months of 2009 -- compared with eight Americans in the first two months of 2008.

Part of the increase is due to the influx of troops. In early 2008, there were about 27,000 forces in the country, some 10,000 fewer than today.

But U.S. troops are also operating in new, dangerous areas.

A brigade of 10th Mountain Division soldiers deployed to two insurgent-heavy provinces outside Kabul in January -- Wardak and Logar.

And American forces are increasingly operating in Taliban heartland in the south.

"It has a lot to do with the fact that we have a presence in places and going into places and disrupting insurgents in area where they haven't been bothered much," Col. Greg Julian, the top U.S. spokesman in Afghanistan, said Saturday.

That, he said, means more battles and more attacks.

As troops pour into the country and violence rises, another sobering measure has also increased: More Afghan civilians are dying in U.S. and allied operations than at the hands of the Taliban, according to a count by The Associated Press.

In the first two months of the year, U.S., NATO or Afghan forces have killed 100 civilians, while militants have killed 60.

In his decree on Saturday, Karzai cited an article in his country's constitution, which says the vote must be held within 30 to 60 days before the end of the presidential term.

The decree also said the commission should "provide the necessary conditions based on laws for peoples' participation in a transparent, clear, just, free" election.

Adul Kahir Wasifi, the chief election officer for Kandahar Province, said he could not comment on Karzai's declaration, but added the full authority to set election dates rests with the election commission in Kabul.

Kandahar politicians and analysts were skeptical of the country's ability to stage an election so quickly.

Haji Agha Lalai, a member of the provincial council and head of independent reconciliation office in Kandahar, said it would be a disaster if they hold the election in April.

"I can bravely say only 10 per cent of the population will take part in the election, because of insecurity and frustration," Lalai said.

Lalai said people have little faith that the government can protect them at the polling stations.

Rushing the election won't help people's skepticism of the political process, says one Kandahar political analyst.

"People don't trust the current government, so they won't believe it's transparent and free of corruption," Bakhtialai, a local elder and scholar, said.

Bakhtialai believes the election commission should be completely separate from government and should be given time and money to convince people of the election's importance and their ability to run it fairly.

Karzai was first appointed as interim Afghan president in 2001 and was elected to the post in 2004.

At first, he was popular at home and enjoyed wide political support in the West. In recent years, his stock has fallen at home because of rampant corruption and a sense that the country's development has stalled.

If the election commission changes the date of the election, Karzai is the overwhelming favourite to win.

-- Canwest News Service/

With files from Agence France Press

The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 1, 2009 A9