Karzai Signs Law to Facilitate Next Year’s Afghan Election
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SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a law Wednesday that will help to allay the international community’s concerns about the 2014 national elections in Afghanistan.
Karzai, who won’t seek a third term, approved the measure that sets up the exact role of Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission, bodies that will oversee any possible voting irregularities.
The election, if it happens next April, would signify the first democratic transition of power in the country. Karzai won the only two nationally-held elections in 2005 and 2009.
There were worries that Karzai might stall, given his seemingly unpredictable nature. In the past month, he has broken off planned peace talks with the Taliban and shut down discussions with Washington about the United States’ role in Afghanistan following next year’s military withdrawal.
However, Karzai was also aware that signing the new law approved by the Afghan parliament would also mean the continuation of much-needed financial aid from the U.S. and its coalition allies.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio