It will be held on August 20th. They were to have been held in May. US troop reinforcements are expected to guarantee the vote in the South and East. Few challenge Karzai.

Kabul (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Afghanistan's election commission said today that the presidential elections will take place on August 20th.  According to the Constitution, the vote was to have been held in May, but Commission head Azizullah Loden, says security is still insufficient to guarantee a free and fair poll.

This will be the nation’s appointment at the ballot box to choose a head of state.

Large parts of the south and the east of the country are simply too unsafe to conduct a free or fair ballot there at this time. Even the process of registering people to vote has had to be put on hold in some districts. Other Afghan officials have said the country simply doesn't have enough time to declare candidates, print ballots and distribute them around the country by spring. Distributing ballots in Afghanistan's mountains during winter or early spring would be an impossible task.

Delays for security reasons are allowed by the Constitution.  Loden noted that the arrival of fresh international reinforcements, along with the 30 thousand American soldiers on Afghan soil could guarantee greater calm ahead of the vote.

There are a number of candidates to succeed Hamid Karzai, but none of them seem a likely challenger.

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