KABUL: Afghanistan on Sunday postponed parliamentary elections until September due to a lack of funding from donor nations after widespread fraud in last year’s presidential poll.
The announcement came as President Hamid Karzai flew to Turkey, the start of a tour that will include Berlin and London. Karzai will appeal for financial and other support for his government. Another flawed election would erode support for Karzai’s government at a time when he has pledged to battle corruption and improve services as fighting against the Taleban escalates.
The Independent Election Commission, whose chairman is appointed by the president, has said it needed about $50 million from the international community to pay for the parliamentary election, budgeted to cost $120 million. That money has not come through in time to hold the vote as planned on May 22, according to commissioner Fazel Ahmed Manawi. He also attributed the delay to security concerns, logistical challenges and the need to improve the election process at a news conference to announce the decision. The vote will be held Sept. 18 instead, Manawi said.
Canada’s ambassador to Afghanistan, William Crosbie, said it was important to address the deficiencies in the presidential election before holding another vote. “We encourage the Afghan government and the Independent Election Commission to set the necessary conditions for parliamentary elections that are credible, secure and inclusive,” he said in a statement.
US lawmakers and other critics had pressed for a postponement in the wake of last August’s disputed poll that re-elected Karzai, warning that holding the vote without substantive electoral reform could undermine support for US aid to the insurgency-wracked country.
Karzai had insisted the constitution, which specifies the elections be held by May, must be followed. But Manawi said Sunday that a review of the constitution and the electoral law paved the way for the postponement.
An Afghan official familiar with the decision said the government has $70 million left over from the previous election, but donor countries said they wouldn’t provide the remainder until they could do a thorough assessment of how the money was spent last year.
The new date was set after the international community promised to provide the money by that time, according to the official.
