Despite post-fraud election totals pushing him below the 50% required to avoid a run-off, President Hamid Karzai wasn’t exactly in the mood to follow the law.
Since our Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbroke, apparently hasn’t talked to Karzai in weeks since they got into a shouting match, the task of persuading Karzai to accept the election results fell to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Ambassador Karl eikenberry and Senator John Kerry. They did good, and Karzai is now in for a run-off, scheduled for November 7.
Once everyone is done patting themselves on the back, however, they should consider U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon observation that it will be a “huge challenge” to overcome the challenges of widespread fraud that marred the August 20th election.
Karzai’s main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, commented, “While I am prepared to go for a run-off, at the same time my door is open.” This open-ended statement, Abdullah conceded, could either mean he is open to a power-sharing agreement (though not “a cabinet position”), or that the logistics of winter and lack of security could render a run-off impossible. He seems like a shrewd operator- he knows the spotlight is on Karzai, and he can only lose by injecting himself into the fray.
Karzai, incidentally, has rejected the idea of power-sharing, claiming, “There is no space for a coalition government in the law.” Glad to see his burgeoning interest in the rule of law. There’s probably space for more of that.
