KABUL - Presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah has argued that recent statements and moves by President Hamid Karzai indicate he is abusing the security pact negotiation process and preparations for the upcoming elections to suit his own interests.
Abdullah's comments came on the last day of the Loya Jirga, in which participants voted to approve the BSA to the Afghan government.
According to Abdullah, Karzai has given mixed messages when it comes to the upcoming elections, asking foreign nations not to interfere in the elections process while also demanding the U.S. guarantee transparency for the elections.
Transparent elections were one of Karzai's preconditions for the signing of the BSA, which would ensure a close military partnership between the U.S. and Afghanistan in the years following the NATO troop withdraw in 2014.
On Thursday, at the opening ceremony of the Jirga, Karzai told the some 2,500 participants that he would wait to sign the BSA until after the Presidential elections in April.
Abdullah claimed that Karzai was looking to benefit his preferred candidate by postponing the signing of the agreement.
Abdullah ran for President in 2009 and lost to Karzai after the first round of voting left them dead-even, despite widespread documentation of voter fraud and other electoral improprieties in favor of the incumbent Mr. Karzai.
"We want good elections from the Independent Election Commission and from Electoral Complaints Commission, so what does the recent statement of President Karzai mean? - It means that President Karzai is trying to get approval ratings through this national issue," Abdullah said. "The candidate he is favoring is not and will not be acceptable to Afghanistan."
Abdullah is not the only candidate that has come out against Karzai's apparent move to delay the signing of the BSA. Former Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak has also been a vocal supporter of the accord and critique of the President's decisions.
U.S. officials have urged Karzai to sign the agreement before the end of the year
Peace in Afghanistan is among the new preconditions Karzai has set in front of the U.S. for signing the pact. Abdullah scoffed at this demand, and said that bringing peace to Afghanistan, immediately, was impossible and that President Karzai was simply trying to get the support of the people by setting expectations he himself could not meet.
The April vote will be the first time Karzai cannot run, with his term limitation imposed by the Afghan Constitution.
"Our demand is that the fate of this agreement be decided as soon as possible because the same way the political transition will take place in 2014, security responsibilities will also transfer," Abdullah said. "That is why people are concerned as investments are leaving Afghanistan and unemployment is increasing, corruption has reached its limit and many people think that this year is the last year...it is the responsibility of the President to calm these concerns."
Abdullah elected not to participate in the Loya Jirga this week in Kabul, which saw some 2,500 leaders from around Afghanistan gather to discuss the BSA. He argued the event was illegal and defied logic in determining the future of Afghanistan's relationship with the U.S. (Tolo news)