Kabul: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Thursday presidential elections could be held a year early as the departure of foreign troops and holding of national election at the same time could cause strain in the region.
Majority of NATO forces will leave Afghanistan in the end of 2014 and the next presidential elections are also scheduled the same year. This is Karzai’s second five-year term and is barred by the constitution to run for a third term.
“I have been talking about this for a few months now. With all the changes that are taking place — with the complete return of international forces to their homes from Afghanistan and the holding of the presidential election at the same time — whether that will be an agenda that we can handle at the same time,” AP quoted him as saying.
However, in a press conference with visiting NATO Secretary-General Andes Fogh Rasmussen, the Afghan president said that the decision had not been made yet about holding elections in 2013. It would take a long time, he added.
According to Afghan constitution elections must be held 30 to 60 days before a president leaves his office. Karzai term is going to end in 2014.
Zekria Barakzai, deputy chief electoral officer, said that according to his understanding early elections could be held if president resigned or something happened to him. In that case, the commission would have three months to hold elections, he added.
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