Afghan Elections Postponed: One Big Step Backwards

By Lt Col P

Someone wearing a lot of stars or bearing ambassadorial credentials needs to bitch-slap President Karzai over this horrendous mistake. If there ever was a time to call in some chips, this is it.

KABUL -- Afghanistan's election commission announced Sunday that it is postponing scheduled parliamentary elections from May until September, bowing to logistical concerns, worries about potential voting fraud and the likelihood that the U.S. troop "surge" will lead to intensified fighting in parts of the country. ...

Some in the international community, as well as visiting U.S. lawmakers, had questioned the wisdom of holding the elections in May. They said it would have proven a distraction for American and NATO troops tasked with providing security for the balloting at the same time they are trying to retake areas from the Taliban.

I get the concerns, trust me I do. However, I'm not at all sure that the conditions causing those concerns will be gone by the time September rolls around. What would lead us to believe that? There will be fraud in some places; there will be violence in some places; there will be delays in some places. But the country as a whole must forge ahead with elections. Not possessing a tradition of strong and transparent governmental institutions, they need to start building some.

I think this electoral postponement is a huge step backwards. What the Afghan people need to see is their government staying the course in the face of danger.

January 25, 2010 01:21 AM Afghanistan