Word: karzai
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...country where ethnic fault lines are steeped in bloodshed, Bashardost is trying to bridge the divide by appealing to common grievances such as corruption, insecurity and a lack of basic services. His trademark black vest features an embroidered white dove of peace. But he talks tough about President Hamid Karzai and self-serving warlords he says have betrayed the Afghan public through their criminal dealings, and, in doing so, given the Taliban a "second chance." (See pictures of a U.S. Marine offensive in Afghanistan...
Another plank of his agenda is an end to the political horsetrading that continues to undermine Afghan institutions. In the run-up to elections, Karzai heavy-handedly co-opted potential rivals with promises of ministerial posts and even the redrawing of provincial borders in favor of minority ethnic groups. His leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, has been accused of giving jobs to fellow Tajiks while serving as foreign minister. (Read a story about Abdullah Abdullah, the man who would beat Karzai...
...critique of Karzai and the warlords is matched by a loud disdain for foreign aid agencies that have spent billions of dollars in reconstruction contracts with lackluster results. As planning minister in 2004, Bashardost called for non-governmental organizations to be expelled (he would resign from the job out of frustration). Today, Bashardost insists he's not against them all, just the "no-good guys" who waste money on bogus projects while parading around in expensive sport utility vehicles. Still, he estimates the cash-guzzling NGOs to be about 90% of the total based in the country...
...Ghani. But expected violence in the country's south may be of benefit to Abdullah. Election authorities estimate that some 700 out of 7,000 polling stations nationwide will not be able to open on the day of elections due to violence, most in the Pashtun-dominated south where Karzai is favored, possibly depriving him of a first-round victory (if no candidate gets 50% of the vote, elections will go to a runoff a month later). The possible closing of some 10% of the polls has raised fears that the elections will not be perceived as fair, particularly among...
...already prepared for a different kind of vote tampering. He expects fraud, he says, but assures TIME that his popularity will overcome any poll manipulation. "You can play with numbers through vote-rigging or through using the state apparatus. But you cannot ignore the sentiments of the nation. Karzai doesn't have that kind of support." Last week, Abdullah's campaign manager, Abdul Sattar Murad, told the Dubai-based National newspaper that his team would actively reject a result that had Karzai winning in the first round, saying the only way the incumbent could get 50% of the vote would...