Afghanistan played down on Wednesday recent anti-Western remarks by President Hamid Karzai

Afghanistan played down on Wednesday recent anti-Western remarks by President Hamid Karzai, saying they were not aimed at specific countries and would not affect relations between Kabul and the international community.A war of words between Karzai and the White House escalated on Monday following accusations by the Afghan president last week that the West carried out election fraud in Afghanistan.

Karzai has not backed down from his remarks and appeared to sharpen the criticism further by singling out the United Statesfor blame. Washington said it was frustrated by the comments and attempts to settle the feud had so far failed.On Wednesday, Karzai’s chief spokesman, Waheed Omer, said the statements were aimed at individuals who had made fraud allegations and were “not necessarily” directed at any specific country.

“When it comes to fraud in elections, you know, there (were) lots of discussions over the past six or seven months … one-sided views mainly made by certain figures that I will not name here,” Omer told a news conference in Kabul.Those figures “do not necessarily represent the country or represent any international organization,” he said.

Karzai made his remarks, Omer said, to avoid a repeat of these fraud allegations in the upcoming parliamentary election.”So that’s why the president did that, and that was not necessarily targeting any specific country or any specific group of countries,” Omer said.

NO EFFECT ON RELATIONS WITH WEST

In his speech last week, Karzai said foreigners had bribed and threatened election workers to carry out fraud in last year’s presidential election, and singled out the former deputy head of the U.N. mission in Kabul — U.S. diplomat Peter Galbraith — as well as the French head of a European Union monitoring team.

Omer played down the effects Karzai’s remarks could have on relations with the West.”It did not have any effect on the strategic relations with the United States and the international community. Our stance and position are the same,” he said.

“Issues that create conflict should be discussed and we hope that these relations get strengthened and reinforced.”U.S. President Barack Obama met Karzai in Kabul last month during a brief night-time visit to Afghanistan but that visit has largely been overshadowed by Karzai’s remarks.On Tuesday, the White House suggested it might cancel a meeting between the two leaders in Washington next month.

Omer said Washington needed to clarify whether the trip would be canceled.”Regarding its cancellation, we don’t have anything specific. This (the visit) is the proposal made by the United States, they should give clarification,” he said.

ELECTION OFFICIALS STEP DOWN

In a development that could help placate Western concerns over fraud ahead of a parliamentary poll in September, Omer said the head of the country’s government-appointed election body and his deputy were to be replaced.Last year’s presidential election damaged Karzai’s standing among Western countries with troops in Afghanistan after allegations of widespread fraud, including that carried out by officials in the Independent Election Commission (IEC).

It led to months of political limbo, with the IEC declaring Karzai the winner but a separate U.N.-backed body rejecting enough ballots to lower Karzai’s total below 50 percent and force a second round.”The working period of Mr. Azizullah Ludin, director of the Independent Election Commission, has finished and will not be extended,” Omer said.

“Daoud Ali Najafi has also resigned from his position which has been approved by the president,” he added, referring to the body’s chief electoral officer.There have been several calls for Ludin to step down since last year’s August 20 vote, and Western diplomats have said the international community would not be pleased if Karzai reappointed him.

Opponents accuse Ludin, a presidential appointee, of favoring Karzai.Omer said both IEC officials would be replaced soon, adding they would be offered high-ranking positions elsewhere. He did not give more details.Holding a free and fair parliamentary election is seen as a crucial test for Afghanistan, which faces a resurgent Taliban, despite the presence of tens of thousands of Western troops, more than eight years since the militants’ removal from power.(Reuters)

Baghdad has declared a new military campaign against Iraqi political parties

An al Qaeda-linked militant group that claimed responsibility for recent bombings in Baghdad has declared a new military campaign against Iraqi political parties, according to a group that monitors insurgents’ communications.The threat from Islamic State of Iraq was contained in a speech from the group’s leader, Omar al-Baghdadi, on an audio tape posted on jihadist forums on Thursday, the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said.

ISI threatened voters before Iraq’s March 7 parliamentary election, warning that they risked death if they cast ballots and calling the election a farce aimed at cementing Shi’ite domination over Sunnis.It also claimed responsibility for bombings at three Baghdad hotels in January that killed at least 36 people, and attacks on government buildings in December that killed 112.

Sunni Islamist insurgents were blamed for rocket, mortar and other attacks that killed 39 people on election day, but 62 percent of Iraq’s registered voters turned out to cast ballots despite the violence and threats.A successful election is considered a major milestone for Iraq’s security forces and its fragile democracy as U.S. troops prepare to depart by the end of 2011. Washington launched its attack on Iraq on March 19, 2003.

“With grace and success from Allah, a coordinated military campaign was started in Baghdad and throughout Iraq, to break the idol of democracy and its resulting polytheist elections,” the ISI message said, according to a translation from SITE.

It said it had been able to “strike the security plan in the heart of Baghdad” and other cities on election day despite increased security efforts to protect voters.

The group cited as part of its campaign a series of pre-election attacks on the headquarters of political parties including the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the National Dialogue Front, the Iraqi Communist Party and others, SITE said.ISI is believed by intelligence analysts to have been created by al Qaeda in Iraq as a local umbrella group for insurgent organizations.

Iraqi prime minister's bloc says it has started laying the groundwork to form a coalition government after preliminary election results

The Iraqi prime minister’s bloc says it has started laying the groundwork to form a coalition government after preliminary election results showed it winning in at least two southern provinces.Friday’s announcement that Nouri al-Maliki’s alliance has created a committee to open talks with other groups signals growing optimism about a strong showing in the parliamentary balloting.

Partial tallies have only been released from only five of Iraq’s 18 provinces, excluding Baghdad. They show the prime minister and his secular rival, former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, locked in a tight contest amid fraud allegations.

But Al-Maliki supporter Abbas al-Bayati says the alliance has already reached out to other parties and believes it will need at least two allies.
First results from Iraq’s parliamentary election showed the prime minister and his secular rival locked in an extremely tight contest Thursday amid fraud allegations by rival parties and a chaotic, unpredictable vote count.The partial tallies came from only five of Iraq’s 18 provinces. However, Iraqi officials who have seen results from across the country said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s coalition appeared to have a narrow edge, though not an outright majority.

That foreshadows tough and lengthy negotiations to build a government and choose a prime minister.The partial results, posted on TV screens in Baghdad to crowds of reporters, were the first in an election that will determine who governs the country as U.S. troops go home – and whether Iraqis can put behind them deep sectarian tensions that once brought their nation to the brink of civil war.

The initial tallies from Sunday’s vote suggested an exceedingly tight contest between coalitions led by al-Maliki, who gained popularity as security improved, and former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite who sharply criticized the prime minister for failing to boost reconciliation efforts between Iraq’s factions.The emerging picture was a setback to hard-line religious Shiite political leaders who saw al-Maliki make gains in two southern provinces deep on their turf. Allawi appeared to be drawing on Sunni support north of Baghdad.Results did not include the race’s big prize – Baghdad – which accounts for 70 of the parliament’s 325 seats.

Thursday’s announcement set off a wave of fraud accusations, largely from Allawi’s Iraqiya coalition which said it uncovered dozens of violations. It said these included soldiers not being allowed to vote, interference in the electoral commission’s work and some polling stations failing to post results.In a statement, the group said it found “rigging to an extent that would render the elections useless for reflecting the voice of the Iraqis.”Election commission officials did not respond specifically to the allegations, but said the commission had received more than 1,000 complaints about potential violations, all of which would be investigated.

Al-Maliki gained ground against hard-line religious parties in two southern provinces. In Babil, where about a third of the ballots had been counted, the prime minister’s State of Law coalition won some 69,000 votes. He also came out on top in Najaf, where his bloc won some 56,000 votes.The tallies were a blow to al-Maliki’s main Shiite competition, the religious Iraqi National Alliance, which includes a party led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Since rising to prominence as part of a Shiite coalition that won the 2005 elections, al-Maliki has tried to recast himself as an inclusive leader for all Iraqis.Allawi’s non-sectarian Iraqiya list, which included Sunni candidates, fared better in central Iraq, where there are more Sunni voters. In Diyala province, Iraqiya received almost 43,000 votes, more than four time’s al-Maliki’s take. In Salahuddin, Allawi’s list had more than 34,000 votes, about five times that of al-Maliki.

Analyst Joost Hilterman of the International Crisis Group said the initial results were largely what he expected. He cautioned that final calls are hard to make without knowing about Baghdad.”Who gets Baghdad is still the most important thing,” he said.

Results from a fifth province, Irbil, showed the Kurdish Alliance, representing the two main Kurdish parties, defeating the upstart Kurdish party, Gorran, in the self-rule territory.Iraqi officials who have seen wider counts from across the country said al-Maliki’s coalition appeared to be coming out on top.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera TV, Ammar al-Hakim, who heads the Shiite Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, said al-Maliki’s bloc was ahead “by some seats.” He said the assessment was based on information supplied by 40,000 observers from his alliance.Almost all Iraqi political parties and coalitions post observers at polling stations and counting centers across the country, serving as a check against fraud.Chaos reigned through much of the day before the first results were posted on large TV screens, with election officials offering different explanations of how much information would be released and when.

The officials said they had no deadline for releasing final results and were undecided about whether they would make public more results Friday.

Leaders from competing political parties visited the counting center during the day, which officials said helped ensure the count’s transparency. Others questioned the appropriateness of candidates getting so close to the counting process.Al-Maliki underwent surgery Wednesday but was quickly released from the hospital and back at work Thursday, according to a statement from his office. An adviser, Yassin Majid, said the surgery was “simple,” but refused to say what it entailed.