Abdullah doesn't see failure, but a new beginning

Published: 13 November 2009

NRC Handelsblad International Edition

Abdullah, a former foreign minister and presidential candidate who dropped out of the runoff vote in Afghanistan, is setting up a political party to lead the opposition against president Karzai.

By Aunohita Mojumdar in Kabul
Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai’s main challenger, had just returned from a weekend in the Panjshir valley. He went there after he withdrew from the second round of the presidential elections in Afghanistan which should have taken place last Saturday. The run-off was subsequently cancelled and Karzai was named the winner, despite the accusations of large scale fraud against his campaign team.

"Winning and losing depends on what you stand for," Abdullah told NRC Handelsblad. "It was the right decision for me to run, and against all odds. I knew what the government and the IEC [Independent Election Commission] were about. People are more hopeful now. I consider this a new beginning rather than the end of a process, for my views and goals and visions for the country.”

Abdullah didn't get much rest while he was away. Supporters have been beating a steady path to his door ever since the election and this has not diminished since the declaration of Karzai as the ‘elected’ president by the country’s IEC.

'Careers are not based on a long shot'

As Karzai struggles to meet competing and often contradictory demands from his political supporters and the international community, Abdullah is quietly laying the ground for a new political party that will function as an opposition to the Karzai government. Though administrative power in Afghanistan is centralised in the hands of the president, the opposition - mainly through parliament - can play the role of spoiler to some effect and block the government. Parliament, for which elections are planned next year, has to approve ministerial appointments and new legislation.

In his house in Kabul, Abdullah denied the the elections were a defeat for him. "I don't think so, political careers are not based on a long shot. I think this movement will continue with more vigour."

Asked about the possibility of anti-election protests turning violent or people joining the Taliban in his home province of Panjshir, Abdullah said: “I am aware of the feelings and emotions in this regard, not just in the Panjshir valley, but in different parts of the country. It is not just about the outcome; even during the campaign a lot of people saw it was not a level playing field. Then the elections. And then the fraud. And then the way the announcement was made by a body which did not have the mandate and also lost its credibility during the elections. For a lot people it sounds like unfinished business.”

Movement should develop into party

"When the final illegal decision was made, I received calls from many parts of the country. People were ready to take action. Of course I strongly rejected all those ideas. Later I heard people were prepared to make a second round impossible, if elections had gone through with just one candidate. That would have been a big setback to the democratic process. I was very clear that I didn’t ask for a boycott and I said it was for the citizens to judge it. Unfortunately we are in this situation that people cannot express their view even through non-violent, legal actions."

Abdullah himself is currently engaged in discussions with a wide variety of political leaders. His movement will “eventually” become a party, he said. "Towards the end of the election process the movement started gaining momentum and filled the vacuum which has been there for some years.”

He agreed that there are some amongst his supporters who may want to join the government for positions of power. “It is possible, but the number of people who want to join the movement will be much greater.”

He ruled out joining the current government or even advising it. Instead he will “call for reforms, for upholding rule of law. We need an independent election commission, we need an independent judiciary, we need changes so faith of the people in the process has to be restored.”

'Leadership which proved itself change-proof'

Abdullah is critical of recent charges of foreign interference by Karzai's supporters. Without naming any group or individual he called it “a dirty game which is being played here”. The international community, according to Abdullah, “did well by standing by the [electoral] process to the extent possible". However, he said, it missed the point on May 22, when Karzai's term ended officially but no interim-government was called for. Abdullah said that made it possible for Karzai's supporters to use government means for his campaign and voter fraud.

"The international community had the opportunity to stand by the people of Afghanistan. The legitimacy of the process could have been assured. Apart from that, there was very little the international community could have done. Now there is a dilemma: calls for change and a leadership which proved itself change-proof.”

“I think the international community is in a difficult position. I do understand the dilemmas, but the problem is we do not have another five years to deal with it like when M. Karzai was elected last time. In only two or three years it will be decided whether the deteriorating course will continue or be stopped and reversed.”