Hamid Karzai

The United Nations had warned that a delay of the violence-threatened vote might be necessary because officials, security forces and candidates alike were ill-prepared for the massive task of registering up to 10.5 million eligible Afghans in time for voting in June.

Putting off the vote means Afghanistan can run the presidential and the more cumbersome parliamentary elections simultaneously, Karzai said.

"We wanted to have both elections together," Karzai said March 28, referring to election officials and the international community. "That's also the desire of the people."

The U.N. special representative to Afghanistan, Jean Arnault, welcomed the decision, saying it would allow time for NATO to expand its peacekeeping operations beyond Kabul.

The Japan Times Weekly: April 3, 2004
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