Afghan violence-inability to disarm warlords -and Elections 10/9

[papau]

Afghan violence-inability to disarm warlords -and Elections 10/9

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-elect22jul22.story

Many Hopes Ride on Afghan Elections
Observers acknowledge the Oct. 9 presidential vote will be imperfect. Candidates say they face an uphill battle against incumbent Karzai.
By Nicholas Riccardi
Times Staff Writer

July 22, 2004

KABUL, Afghanistan — Pity Janbazz Sultani, one of the more than two dozen men and women who hope to become Afghanistan's first democratically elected president.

To get on the ballot, Sultani's campaign must collect copies of 10,000 supporters' voter registration cards by Sunday — this in a country where Kalashnikov rifles vastly outnumber functioning copy machines. After proving he's a bona fide candidate, the soft-spoken economist must figure out how to barnstorm across the nation, even though banditry and terrorism make it unsafe to leave the capital.

Finally, Sultani will have to compete against incumbent President Hamid Karzai, a man whose picture adorns government buildings across Afghanistan and who enjoys the protection of U.S. commandos and the support of President Bush and — according to a recent poll — about two-thirds of all Afghans.

"This election will be a good campaign if the international community supports this, if they don't just want a showcase," said Sultani, who hopes to win support for his efforts to end factional violence and boost the economy.

After months of mounting violence against poll workers and several postponements, Afghanistan's interim government has set the presidential election for Oct. 9. The election is expected to hand Bush a foreign policy coup as he heads to his own showdown at the polls. Afghan parliamentary elections have been pushed back to April.<snip>