The Candidates, All Forty-One of Them

The posters on the wall above (a shot I took just around the corner from my house) represent just a fraction of the total number of candidates running in the 2009 presidential elections. Since there is no limit to the number of candidates who can run, and nomination by a political party is not necessary, voters will have an astounding forty-one candidates to choose from come August 20th.

The only candidate thought to have a chance to beat Karzai come August is the widely popular Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, a former Foreign Minister in Karzai's government. Although he is the clear favorite among people in Kabul, most here still feel that victory by Karzai is inevitable, not least because of perceived American favoritism. Perhaps to counter that perception Ambassador Eikenberry has been making a point to appear publicly with a number of major candidates, including Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani.

Last spring I wrote a short election summary for the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, DC. If you are interested you can download and read the file here.

The Penthouse Office

Here is a picture of my office at the External Relations department. In the picture with me is Eng. Abdul Tawab Salim, Observer Facilitation Officer at the IEC. All together there are four people working in the office, which is very similar to the trailers that construction companies in the United States use on long-term projects. We are separate from the large main building and interestingly fall just outside the brand new blast wall being built around the head office.

National Security Advisor James Jones

On Tuesday Obama's NSA, James Jones, stopped by the IEC accompanied by Ambassador Eikenberry. I did not get to attend the meetings so there is not much to tell. The most interesting thing I saw was the security detail entering and leaving our compound. In the picture above from left to right are Ambassador Eikenberry; James Jones; and Azizullah Ludin, President of the IEC.

By the way, James Jones is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. That's why he gets to sit in the middle : )

Ambassador Eikenberry Visits Us at the IEC

On Monday the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, visited the IEC. During his visit he toured IEC facilities and held a press conference that appeared on numerous Afghan and international television stations. I attended the press conference and actually made it onto the news on several channels—something I found out while watching TV and eating my breakfast this morning. (I will be posting the video if one becomes available.)

Eikenberry’s statements regarding the election process were fairly broad and predictable. His primary message was that of the Obama administration’s policy of neutrality towards the presidential candidates—and for good reason. Surprising as it may sound to Westerners following the developments in Afghanistan, many Afghans are convinced that the Obama administration favors Karzai and will actively interfere to ensure his re-election. Karzai came to power in 2002 when he was named interim president of the transitional government. He was subsequently elected to his first term as president in 2004.

Electricity in Kabul

The most noticeable change in Kabul since my last visit to Afghanistan is the existence of twenty-four hour electricity throughout the city. People I have spoken to here are convinced that Obama turned the power on—apparently the electricity came two days after his inauguration.

According to various new sources the new power is the result of an agreement between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. The agreement assures the supply of the new power—up to 150MW by the end of 2009—through newly constructed 420 kilometer supply lines financed largely by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Rockets Fired at Bagram

Yesterday several rockets fired by insurgents hit Bagram Air Base and killed two American soldiers. The American base is approximately forty kilometers northeast of Kabul.

A few people here at the IEC claimed to have heard the rockets explode and seen the smoke rising in the distance, though it seems unlikely that what they witnessed was from Bagram given that the compound where we work is about thirty-five kilometers away. It is, however, very normal to hear what seem to be US airtrikes in the distance. Every so often you can feel the ground shake and loud booming sounds in the distance.

The IEC is situated in Pul-charkhi on the outskirts of Kabul--a bit northeast of the red "Jalalabad" arrow on the map above. Our neighbors here on Jalalabad Road are the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) compound and Camp Phoenix, an American military installation that trains the Afghan National Army (ANA).