I wanted to switch gears a bit with my fourth cultural post and discuss something that was not related to sports, despite that topic being the center of my cultural project. In just a few months, April 5, 2014 to be precise, Afghanistan will be electing its next president. This should be an interesting election as incumbent president Hamid Karzai, who entered office on December 22, 2001, will be ineligible to run as he has reached his term limit. Therefore, Afghanistan will be under new leadership for the first time for well over a decade. Likewise, the timing of the election also coincides with the United States' extensive withdrawal plan that is slated to occur sometime in 2014. There are 11 candidates that are competing for the presidency, including Hamid Karzai's brother Qayoum Karzai; the ballot was finalized in November and can be read here. Notably, there were originally 27 candidates who were vying for the presidency, however, 16 were disqualified for various reasons. Recent polling has indicated that Abdullah Abdullah is the election's current front-runner. Abdullah, a doctor who used to be the nation's Minister of Foreign Affairs, was Karzai's closest competitor in the Afghanistan's 2009 presidential election.
An interesting topic to follow heading into the election surrounds relations between Karzai, as he exits office, and the United States. Karzai and Secretary of State John Kerry had originally agreed to signing a bilateral security agreement that would ensure that several thousand U.S. troops would remain in Afghanistan even after the planned withdrawals in 2014. In an interesting turn of events, Karzai has claimed that he does not want to sign the agreement, and would rather have the next president sign the agreement. It is difficult to understand Karzai's rationale as the agreement had been in talks for over a year - some foreign affairs experts suggest that Karzai may want more leverage in negotiations as he winds down his presidency. Given the recent developments surrounding Karzai and the U.S., the disqualification of candidates and the timing of the U.S.'s exit, this election should prove to be not only very interesting, but also pivotal in shaping that direction that Afghanistan is headed in, at least for the near-term.
The following articles add some more context to the discussion:
"Afghan Election Race Kicks Off" (WSJ)
"US Organization Optimistic on Afghan Elections" (AP)
"How will Afghanistan election affect U.S. interests?" (USA Today)
"U.S. urges Karzai to sign Afghan pact before Afghan elections" (PBS)
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