Election Run-Down

The Afghan elections weren't going to be that exciting. Now it appears that two of Karzai's challengers are catching up.

NPR had an enthusiastic story today about Abdullah Abdullah, who increasingly looks like the main competition to Karzai in the upcoming elections.

The former Foreign Minister is gaining popularity with the Afghan population by emphasizing his connection to Ahmah Shah Massoud, a popular fighter against the Taliban and Soviets. The NPR piece is worthwhile for hearing him talk about himself and his campaign strategy.

This Chistian Science Monitor story has a more thorough explanation of Abdullah's background, and how he compares to the other challenger, Ashraf Ghani, who they characterize as an "intellectual." The article also describes Karzai's advantages and the issues the rest of the campaigning season faces, including increased attacks from the Taliban.

The candidates are not receiving anything like fair coverage, however. According to this article from The Media Line,

'“In print government media, 72 percent is allocated to President Karzai, 12 percent to Dr. Abdullah and five percent to Dr. Asharf Ghani Ahmadzai,” Sadiqullah Tawhidi, the electoral committee’s media monitoring chief said in a press conference Sunday.'

I, personally, have yet to hear any convincing arguments about whether non-incumbent candidates can win. Karzai has the vast majority of media coverage. Most of the country expects him to win and thinks he is backed by the US. He also cut deals across the country with various leaders before campaigning really began. As we get closer to the August 20 elections, hopefully it will be easier to tell if there's real competition, and it would be great for Afghanistan's democratization and America's reputation if there were.

In other election news, donkeys will carry ballot boxes to the highest parts of the Hindu Kush mountain range.

The photo is thanks to rybolov used under a Creative Commons License.