KABUL —
Campaign season for Afghanistan’s presidential election kicks off Sunday, and the stakes are high for the 11 candidates vying to succeed President Hamid Karzai.
The outcome of the April 5 vote is seen as a make-or-break move for the country’s future and key to the level of foreign involvement here after nearly 13 years of war.
“This is a very important election, very crucial election because this is the first time from an elected president we are going to go to another elected president,” said Ziaulhaq Amarkhil, chief electoral officer for the Independent Election Commission.
Billions of dollars in funds are tied to the government’s holding a free and fair election — the first independent vote organized by Afghanistan without direct foreign assistance.
The West will be watching the vote as a means of gauging the success of its efforts to foster democracy and bolster security over the past 12 years. A withdrawal of U.S. funding and support would put the future president in a compromised position.
