AFGHANISTAN President Karzai delays elections amid glitches

Political jockeying is being blamed for yet another setback; other factors exist, too.
WASHINGTON POST
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Parliamentary elections scheduled for spring will not take place until at least September, President Hamid Karzai said Thursday, in a further delay of the country's full transition to democracy.
The country has grappled with logistical problems, including a lack of census data, in preparing for the elections. But the parliamentary vote, which originally was set to be held at the same time as last year's presidential election, has been repeatedly delayed, in part because of political jockeying among Afghanistan's ethnic and political factions.
Karzai, during a news conference with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, also insisted that security was improving, despite a bomb attack that killed five people Thursday in Kandahar, 250 miles south of Kabul.
Afghanistan is "among the least violent states in this part of the world," said Karzai, as private security guards armed with assault weapons kept close watch over reporters. Rice, making her visit to Afghanistan, flew on a military transport and spent barely six hours on the ground under constant and heavy security. The news conference was held at Karzai's heavily fortified palace, surrounded by barricades, watch towers and blocked-off streets. Some of Karzai's rivals have accused him of stalling the parliamentary vote to strengthen the presidency. While another delay had been expected, the official announcement was considered politically sensitive.