Karzai announces Afghan presidency candidacy
Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced his candidacy today for landmark October elections after several days of heated political wrangling.
In a surprise move, he dropped Defence Minister Mohammed Fahim, arguably the nation’s most powerful warlord, from his ticket, replacing him with Ahmad Zia Massood, the brother of Afghanistan’s greatest resistance hero.
“I hope the Afghan people will recognise us as a good team and I hope the people of Afghanistan will vote for us,” Karzai said at a in a shady courtyard of the Kabul presidential palace, flanked by his vice presidential choices and dozens of aides and security guards.
Ahmad Zia Massood is Afghanistan’s current ambassador to Russia and the brother of resistance hero Ahmad Shah Massood, who was killed by al-Qaida terrorists in September 2001.
Karzai named Hazara leader Karim Khalili his choice for second vice president.
It was not clear whether Fahim would stay on as defence minister or become an opponent of Karzai.
Nato peacekeepers were taking no chance on potential trouble.
Convoys of German and Canadian armoured vehicles picked their way through the crowded thoroughfares and thundered through the back streets of the capital.
A German vehicle broke down in one street causing a major traffic jam.
American troops parked two Humvees at the top of the streets leading to the country’s electoral office, which was sealed off by Afghan National Army troops and intelligence officers.
