Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

US Awaits New President for BSA Signature

US Awaits New  President for BSA Signature

KABUL - At a meeting held in the western Herat province on Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham expressed support for the Afghan election process and said Washington looked forward to finalizing the security deal that would allow American troops to stay in Afghanistan after 2014 with the next executive in Kabul.

The Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) has been stalled ever since President Hamid Karzai placed new preconditions on signing the pact back in November of 2013. The U.S. has since welcomed statements from the top presidential candidates looking to succeed Karzai indicating their willingness to ink the accord without any further delay.

The BSA would provide the legal framework for a continued train and advise mission for foreign troops after the NATO combat mission ends in December, as well as ensure future financial support for the Afghan security forces from the U.S. and its allies.

"We have made clear that we are willing to wait for the next President of Afghanistan to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement and I am sure that whoever the next President is he will sign it as one of the first items of business in his presidency," Ambassador Cunningham said on Tuesday.

Negotiations over the BSA have been a major source of tension between the Karzai administration and Washington in recent months. Many experts and political leaders in Afghanistan have derided Karzai for undermining relations with the U.S., which many of them see as being crucial to the improvement of future security and economic conditions.

The top U.S. diplomat in Afghanistan on Tuesday also expressed confidence in the processes of Afghanistan's election commissions, which now face the daunting task of filtering out illegitimate votes from the estimated seven million that were cast on April 5.

"This is now the time to let the Afghan process work for the people of Afghanistan, and for the candidates and their campaigns to allow the institutions to announce the results of the elections, and then if there is second round of elections, to began preparing for those," Cunningham said. He encouraged candidates to respect the Independent Election Commission's (IEC) decisions.

Although partial results based on 10 percent of ballots were announced on Sunday, putting presidential hopeful Abdullah Abdullah in the lead, those results were not yet filtered for irregularities. The preliminary results, which are expected to be more accurate and reflect greater scrutiny, are scheduled to be announced by April 24. Final results will not be publicized until May 14, after the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) has concluded its investigations.

"The United States and our international partners will continue to do what we can to support the transparent and credible political process that the Afghan people want," Cunningham said. "I repeat that we have not and will not support any particular candidate." He said he was confident the U.S. would be able to work with whoever the next President is.

The Ambassador took time to praise the turnout Election Day saw, which surprised many after weeks of Taliban violence had captured headlines. He said broad participation of Afghan women further symbolized how far Afghan democracy has come. (Tolonews)