London: As Hamid Karzai prepares for his
toughest electoral battle, the Afghan President is in the
final stages of inking a secret deal with one of his rivals to
ensure a decisive victory in the presidential poll on August
20, a news report said on Friday.
Afghanistan's second democratic polls, which is less
than two weeks away, threaten to split the restive country
along sectarian lines amid fears of undermining the US-led war
against the resurgent Taliban.
Analysts predict that country could be engulfed in a
massive civil war reminiscent of the 1990s if Karzai or his
challenger Abdullah Abdullah fail to win an outright victory
on August 20.
"The whole country is armed. Everybody has weapons.
You have to keep everyone happy," an Afghan analyst said.
Abdullah's supporters, who are largely Tajik, have threatened
to hold protest demonstrations of Iranian-style, but "with
Kalashnikovs", should the Karzai win a second term. They
insist the President could win only fraudulently.
Although Karzai, a Pashtun, is expected to stay ahead,
Ashraf Ghani, the third casndidate could split the Pashtun vote
and deprive the President of the 51 percent share needed for
an outright victory.
Now Afghan officials said the President had offered
Ghani a jobs as chief executive – a new post described as
similar to prime minister, to knock Abdullah out of the race.
"If Ghani agrees to the terms, Karzai will dump his
team and move forward, with Karzai as President and Ghani as
chief executive," a campaign official was quoted as saying by
The Independent newspaper today.
Sources close to the Karzai's inner circle confirmed
that they had made an offer to Ghani two weeks ago and the
President's brother, Qayum Karzai, had made the first
approach, the British daily said. They argued that Ghani
couldn't win "and even if he did, he couldn't hold on to
power".
According to the report, Richard Holbrooke, the US
special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, is understood to
have discussed the proposal with Ghani late last month.
"It makes sense," a policy analyst with close links to
the US administration said. "Holbrooke likes Ghani, and he has
come round to the fact that Karzai will probably win."
Karzai has been in power since the US-led troops
overthrew the Taliban regime in 2001, though he has been
criticised for his lack of control, the slow pace of
development and endemic corruption among government officials.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, August 07, 2009, 20:18