Main focus of Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Karzai wins without a runoff vote

Despite massive election fraud Afghan President Hamid Karzai will remain in office. The country's Independent Election Commission (IEC) cancelled the second round of voting and declared Karzai the winner after his rival Abdullah Abdullah withdrew his candidacy for a runoff vote. The Afghan democracy experiment threatens to be a failure.

Helsingin Sanomat - Finland

The positive expectations tied to the presidential elections in Afghanistan have been let down by the cancellation of the run-off, writes daily Helsingin Sanomat: "The escalating civil war and the government's weakness made the preparation of elections a game of chance from the outset. Afghani politicians, Isaf troops and the United Nations took this chance because they did not want to appear untrustworthy. Democratically elected bodies should be the cornerstone of the new US strategy in Afghanistan. The faith of Afghanis in the government of President Hamid Karzai is limited [anyway] because of past corruption and lack of efficiency, and if their faith loses more ground, the Taliban can only gain from this. ... Al-Qaeda terrorism is a growing international threat. The Afghan people still need support in order to be able to live in peaceful and humane conditions." (03/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Elections, » Afghanistan

El País - Spain

The daily El País says the election victory of Afghan President Hamid Karzai gives Islamists a boost: "The Independent Electoral Commission, which - filled as it is with the president's buddies, is anything but independent - has made its decision under international pressure and based on a questionable interpretation of the weak constitution of this Central Asian country. ... For the Taliban and al-Qaeda, the naming of Karzai [as president] is a propaganda coup. From the standpoint of fanatic Islamists, who are gradually establishing their control over Afghanistan, as well as in the eyes of their numerous disciples, this [appointment] simply means that the democratic process against which they are fighting has suffered a critical blow." (03/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Afghanistan

Diário de Notícias - Portugal

The tug of war over the Afghan presidency reflects the political drama playing out in Afghanistan, the daily Diário de Notícias writes. The paper adds that the country needs "a clear and strong military strategy against the barbaric fundamentalists and an economic and social strategy which pushes the opium trade into the background. ... Anything else is simply a wild fantasy of the US neo-conservatives, who are convinced they can export Western democracy with the same fervour as they wanted to export the dictatorship of the proletariat when they were young Trotzkyists."   (03/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » U.S., » Afghanistan

Il Sole 24 Ore - Italy

According to the business daily Il Sole 24 Ore the two rivals for the Afghan presidency, Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, could become partners at least when it comes to doling out the money from the West: "With Abdullah's withdrawal, a dangerous second round of voting was avoided, but now a new chapter begins in Afghanistan. … Despite all the denials, Karzai and Abdullah may strike a deal to work together at least as regards the distribution of the new support package to be approved at the next Afghanistan conference. Abdullah's decision to pull out could have been a clever move in the race for the booty. Thus the Afghan trap snaps closed on even the best and most democratic intentions of international diplomacy." (03/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Elections, » Europe, » U.S., » Afghanistan
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