Karzai bids for re-election with warlord as running mate

PRESIDENT Hamid Karzai registered as a candidate for Afghanistan’s August presidential election yesterday and selected a powerful warlord and former top political leader as his new vice-presidential running mate.

Wearing his trademark green and purple cloak, Karzai said he wanted to run again “to be at the service of the Afghan people,” though he acknowledged “some mistakes” during his five-year term as president.

Karzai’s popularity has waned in recent years, as civilian casualties caused by international military forces have increased and charges of government corruption persist. But, so far, no candidates who could challenge Karzai’s hold on power have registered for the August 20 election.

One possible challenger, Nangarhar governor Gul Agha Sherzai, withdrew his name over the weekend following a four-hour meeting with Karzai. Another possible challenger, Dr Abdullah, the country’s former foreign minister, has said he will run, but has not yet filed paperwork. Candidates have until Friday to register.

In registering for re-election, Karzai made a major change to his ticket, selecting Mohammad Qasim Fahim, a powerful Tajik warlord who has served as defence minister and interim vice-president, as one of his two vice-presidential running mates.

In a reminder of the country’s perilous security, a suicide bombing, a roadside bomb and a militant attack killed 24 people yesterday in three separate incidents.

The suicide bomber attacked the mayor of Mehterlam, capital of eastern Laghman province, killing six people, including the mayor and his nephew, the deputy governor said.

In Zabul province, a roadside bomb exploded against a family riding on a tractor, killing 12 people, while militants attacked a convoy and killed six security guards, officials said.

Karzai entered the registration room flanked by the two men running as his vice-presidents – Fahim and ethnic Hazara leader Karim Khalili, Karzai’s current second vice-president.

The president submitted the forms for all three and answered questions from an elections commission official confirming he had gathered the required signatures of supporters. At the end, a smiling Karzai told reporters he was happy his application had been approved and he had been worried he might fail the registration process.

Karzai registered just ahead of a Wednesday meeting in Washington with President Barack Obama and Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari, where the three are to discuss the increasingly perilous security situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The US has increased its focus on Afghanistan this year, shifting its resources away from the Iraq conflict. Obama is sending 21,000 additional forces to bolster the record 38,000 US troops already in Afghanistan in hopes of stemming an increasingly powerful Taliban insurgency.