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Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s main presidential opponent Abdullah Abdullah, who dropped out of the run-off election, today questioned the legitimacy of the Karzai government. The World’s Aaron Schachter reports.
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MARCO WERMAN: I’m Marco Werman. This is The World. While President Obama decides whether to send more troops to Afghanistan his Afghan counterpart is making decisions about his new government. Hamid Karzai returned to power after a presidential runoff election was abandoned on Monday. And he’s under pressure to form a government that will more effectively battle corruption and terrorism. But any hopes Karzai may have had about turning his political rival into an ally were dampened today. The World’s Aaron Schachter reports that Abdullah Abdullah says he’s not about to play ball with Karzai.
AARON SCHACHTER: Many Afghans didn’t seem to care much how the August presidential election was held or whether there was a runoff vote. Most suspected that by hook or crook Karzai would be reelected. Now Afghans like Wajma Jan just want to move beyond the election mess.
WAJMA JAN: [SPEAKING DARI]
TRANSLATOR: We Afghans want peace and stability. Whenever we come out we’re scared. It does not matter if Karzai is the president or Abdullah. We want peace.
SCHACHTER: It was Abdullah who withdrew from the planned runoff. Still today he called the Karzai illegitimate and criticized Afghanistan’s government appointed election commission for declaring Karzai president.
ABDULLAH ABDULLAH: [SPEAKING DARI]
TRANSLATOR: This decision to award Karzai the presidency has no legal basis and a government coming to power as a result of an illegal decision by a discredited body cannot introduce the rule of law and fight administrative corruption in the country.
SCHACHTER: But Abdullah’s credibility could be called into question as well. He portrayed his pullout from the runoff election as a selfless act. But today’s Washington Post quotes Afghan and Western officials as saying Abdullah was negotiating to join Karzai in a power-sharing deal. They say Abdullah demanded several key positions in the government for his allies and quit the race only after he was turned down. For his part Karzai has promised to eradicate the stain of corruption that has tainted his country and his government. He vowed to reform Afghan laws and strengthen an anti-corruption panel formed last year. But former presidential challenger, Sarwar Ahmedzai, says there’s no chance that Karzai will change his spots.
SARWAR AHMEDZAI: There is absolutely no rule of law. There’s absolutely an increase in the drug business. He has promised so many slots in cabinet to warlords and drug lords.
SCHAHCTER: Ahmedzai had promised Iran-like street demonstrations if the elections were tainted and Karzai returned to power. He says he called those off when he realized it could lead to violence. Still, he says, there is simmering anger among the Afghan people in the wake of the elections, the cancelled runoff, and the continuation of a government widely considered corrupt and ineffective. For The World I’m Aaron Schachter.
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