Karzai Suffers an Election Blow

[tekisui]

Source: Asia Times Online

MAZAR-E-SHARIF - A key alliance supporting Afghan President Hamid Karzai's re-election appears to be coming unglued with just 10 days to go before the August 20 polls.

Junbish-e-Milli, the party and support base of Karzai ally General Abdul Rashid Dostum, has split, with a large and powerful arm campaigning openly for the president's main rival, Abdullah Abdullah.

When Karzai entered into the alliance with ethnic Uzbek strongman Dostum in late May, many saw it as a coup for both sides.

Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun, at a stroke cemented his own position
Karzai suffers an election blow
By Ahmad Kawush

MAZAR-E-SHARIF - A key alliance supporting Afghan President Hamid Karzai's re-election appears to be coming unglued with just 10 days to go before the August 20 polls.

Junbish-e-Milli, the party and support base of Karzai ally General Abdul Rashid Dostum, has split, with a large and powerful arm campaigning openly for the president's main rival, Abdullah Abdullah.

When Karzai entered into the alliance with ethnic Uzbek strongman Dostum in late May, many saw it as a coup for both sides.

Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun, at a stroke cemented his own position in the northern provinces, where Dostum holds sway, and undercut Abdullah, who was also courting the non-Pashtun electorate in the north.

more: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KH14Df01.html