Word: karzai
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...greater regulation of the use of state resources for campaigning. "Millions of Afghans voted on Aug. 20 despite the threats of violence, demonstrating their strong desire for a government that derives its authority from the will of the people," said NDI in a statement released the day after Karzai's announcement. "Everything possible should be done in the limited time available to apply lessons learned from the first round of polling to ensure that the results of the runoff election meet the desires of citizens and ensure legitimacy for the elected government...
Despite a fresh warning by the Taliban on Oct. 24 asking Afghans to boycott next month's presidential election runoff, both Afghan President Hamid Karzai and rival Abdullah Abdullah launched the second round of their campaigns, the first step toward bringing resolution to an election that has been mired in fraud and controversy. But will Afghans overcome their suspicions and security fears in order to turn out in enough numbers to bestow legitimacy on this next round...
Last week, exactly two months after Afghans first went to the polls on Aug. 20, Karzai announced that since no one candidate (out of a field of 41) had received 50% of the vote, the election would go to a second round between the two highest vote earners. An initial tally of the votes put Karzai at 54%, with Abdullah in second place at 28%, but after more than a million votes were thrown out due to irregularities, the results were recalibrated to 49% and 32%, respectively. (See a profile of Abdullah Abdullah...
...attempt to mitigate some of the fraudulent methods practiced in the first round, when stations that never opened due to security fears nevertheless reported votes. The bulk of those stations were in the south and east, where insecurity is highest but where Karzai has the most support...
...What's more, despite the findings of the electoral commission, there's widespread doubt in Kabul over whether a runoff vote will actually proceed. A power-sharing deal between Karzai and Abdullah is considered the much more likely outcome. But in reality, the manner in which the electoral stalemate is resolved doesn't substantially alter the basic choice facing Obama: either send tens of thousands more U.S. troops, which U.S. commander General Stan McChrystal says are necessary simply to halt the Taliban's advance, or draw down to a policing operation against al-Qaeda and abandon the goal of defeating...