Funny Thing Happened On the Way To An Election

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REPORTING FROM KABUL

Last June many experts and long time Afghanistan watchers dismissed the August Presidential elections as a mere formality on the way to another Hamid Karzai victory. In fact, it looked that way as President Karzai not only looked like a sure winner but acted as one as well.  The international press was filled with stories of his growing support and the scattered and seemingly ineffectual opposition figures running against him.  Last spring, before the Independent Election Commission set a threshold for candidacy, there were literally hundreds of individuals running for President.  When the ballot was finally set there were still forty-one names with Karzai as the truly recognizable one. But a funny thing happened on the way to a sure thing, an election broke out.  Today you have an interesting mix of the former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, the former Finance Minister Ashrif Ghani and a apparent wild-card Razman Baashodost competing for votes once thought a lock for President Karzai.  What is interesting is the energy of these campaigns have grown exponentially in the last weeks with Abdullah attracting larger and larger crowds for his boisterous rallies. Meanwhile Bashdost has setup a tent complex in which he receives journalists and other visitors as early as 5 am thereby creating a type of mystic quality to an otherwise unknown candidate.  In short, it’s an interesting time to be in Kabul as election day approaches next Thursday the 20th and we are in the last weekend of campaigning . The pace of activity that the candidates have embarked upon is only going to increase as is the attention that they all are receiving by the electorate that they are attempting to convince.