16 Candidates Disqualified in Afghanistan
By AZAM AHMED
KABUL, Afghanistan — More than half of the Afghan presidential hopefuls
had their hopes dashed on Tuesday when the country’s election commission
declared that their candidacies did not meet documentary or citizenship
requirements.
The Independent Election Commission
announced that it had ruled out 16 candidates, leaving 10 — including
all the major contenders — remaining in the campaign for the presidency
in April. “They either didn’t meet the conditions set for citizenship,
or their supporter list didn’t meet our conditions or there were
problems in their documents,” said the head of the commission, Ahmad
Yousuf Nuristani.
Most of the excluded candidates were second-tier power players, like the
former commerce minister, who in all likelihood stood little chance of
winning. Still, at least a few had recently resigned from their
governmental posts for the express purpose of running.
As for the more well-known challengers, all supposedly met the criteria —
despite last-minute whispers that the perceived front-runner, former
Foreign Minister Zalmay Rassoul, would be knocked from the roster. It is
unclear exactly how these candidates met the criteria for running while
the others did not, and the Independent Election Commission did not
elaborate.
The presidential election has become a central focus for the
international community, which is placing a great deal of pressure on
Afghanistan’s government to stick to the April timeline. While few
expect the process to be perfect, electing a new president to replace
the two-term Hamid Karzai has become a crucial benchmark of progress. It
is also seen as a foundation for a future Afghanistan as the Western
presence begins to fade.
As such, international scrutiny of the electoral process, and especially
the election commission, is likely to remain close. Several members of
the commission have ties to the presidential palace and Mr. Karzai,
initially prompting concerns about its neutrality.
Although some Afghan officials still consider Mr. Rassoul to be Mr.
Karzai’s preferred candidate to succeed him, that assessment is
increasingly coming into question amid rumors that the relationship has
been souring. Otherwise, none of the remaining candidates have emerged
as clear front-runners.
For now, the candidates have one more official hurdle to cross before
they are formally placed on the ballot: the Elections Complaints
Commission. That body is tasked with reviewing any evidence submitted
against the presidential hopefuls that could disqualify them, including
human rights abuses or war crimes.
Still, the complaints commission is unlikely to produce the sort of
culling that Tuesday provided. While more than a few of the candidates
have questionable records from the past 30 years of war and political
maneuvering, none have ever been convicted on such serious charges.
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