Word: karzai
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...climate of fear was measurable in degrees depending on what part of Afghanistan you were in: higher across the Taliban's southern stronghold, where threats of violence in cities like Kandahar were punctuated by sporadic attacks; and less so toward the center and north, the base of President Karzai's top challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, the former foreign minister. (Watch a video about Abdullah Abdullah...
...night letter" campaign ahead of the vote forewarned residents that their fingers would be cut off if they dared to participate. Many still braved the threat, but observers suggested that voter turnout there was perhaps as much as 40% lower than 2004 elections - a potential setback for President Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun counting on his southern base. (Read a story about the warlord who is key to Karzai's victory...
Nevertheless, on Friday, Karzai's campaign called the election for the President, saying he did so well there would be no need for a run off. (Karzai would need to take 50% of the vote plus one in order to win the election outright.) But Abdullah's campaign made similar claims. The announcements appear to be post-vote political maneuvering. The national election commission says that it will not release preliminary official results until Tuesday...
...Hewad, 31, stayed at home over concerns about security in the streets. Apathy over the quality of presidential candidates in the field made the decision easier, he says. "But it looks like there were not as many problems like we expected," he explains, adding that he would have backed Karzai, a fellow Pashtun. "Now I really regret that I didn't vote." He may yet get a second chance if the contest goes to a run-off - and the country has to pluck up its courage once more...
...election, when Hamid Karzai was voted President after serving two years as interim leader, Ahmadi remembers thousands of voters showing up at the very same station, which is a mosque perched on a hill with a commanding view of the city. "This time there is no one," he says. But he doesn't blame the low turnout on insecurity alone. "Over the past seven years, people have become disappointed with democracy. They don't see that it has made their lives any better." (See pictures of Afghanistan's dangerous Korengal Valley...