When Abdullah wins

[Azmal]

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...55203897244082

Afghan Presidential Front-Runner Abdullah Abdullah Endorsed by Rival Zalmai Rassoul
Mr. Rassoul Finished Third in the Initial Round of the Presidential Election

Afghan Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah at the site of a landslide in Argu village in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, last week. European Pressphoto Agency
KABUL—The front-runner in the Afghan presidential election, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, Sunday moved closer to power by securing the vital endorsement of the candidate who finished third in the election's initial round.

According to preliminary results, Mr. Abdullah won 44.9% in the April 5 election, followed by former World Bank executive Ashraf Ghani, with 31.5%. The two men are supposed to face each other in a runoff election sometime in June.

Finishing third with 11.5% on April 5 was another former foreign minister, Zalmai Rassoul, who was widely seen as enjoying the backing of President Hamid Karzai. Mr. Karzai was prohibited by the constitution from running again.

Mr. Rassoul's endorsement significantly bolsters Mr. Abdullah's prospects, and is likely to put pressure on Mr. Ghani to pull out from the race, avoiding a costly and potentially dangerous runoff that many believe he's unlikely to win. Mr. Ghani's spokesman, Ajmal Abidi, said after Mr. Rassoul's announcement that Mr. Ghani is staying committed to the race. He pointed out that not all the members of Mr. Rassoul's team joined Mr. Abdullah.

Sunday's agreement between Messrs. Abdullah and Rassoul calls for the decentralization of the Afghan government structure, and for a change in the electoral law to increase the role of political parties. Currently, the Afghan president is responsible for minute decisions, down to the appointments of district-level officials, and parliament is elected under a system that benefits local tribal leaders and warlords at the expense of organized political parties. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for next year.

Mr. Abdullah, a former leader of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, is of mixed Tajik and Pashtun ancestry, and draws much of his support from the Tajik and Hazara communities of central and northern Afghanistan. All the other presidential candidates are Pashtuns, members of Afghanistan's largest ethnic community that has traditionally produced the country's rulers, from kings to the Taliban to Mr. Karzai.

Mr. Rassoul descends from Afghanistan's royal family, originally from the southern city of Kandahar—the homeland of Mr. Karzai and a critical reservoir of votes.

Gul Agha Shirzai and Abdullah Abdullah in Kabul on May 3. Getty Images
Another former presidential contender with a support base in Kandahar, former provincial governor Gul Agha Shirzai, has already endorsed Mr. Abdullah.

Such backing is likely to make Mr. Abdullah more palatable to many southern Pashtuns who are wary of his Tajik background.

"Our people are tired of war and discrimination--what they want is national unity," Mr. Rassoul said at Sunday's event in Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel, packed with several hundred supporters.

"The main reason we decided to join hands is to prevent the election from being decided on an ethnic basis."

"We are now one team," Mr. Abdullah added.

It wasn't immediately clear what role Mr. Rassoul would play in an Abdullah administration.

Not all of Mr. Rassoul's team members were present at Sunday's event announcing his endorsement of Mr. Abdullah. Absent were Mr. Karzai's brothers Qayum and Mahmood, who had previously joined Mr. Rassoul's effort, as well as one of Mr. Rassoul's two vice-presidential candidates, Ahmad Zia Massoud.

—Margherita Stancati contributed to this article.

Write to Yaroslav Trofimov at yaroslav.trofimov@wsj.com

My hope was with Rassoul joining Ghani, the Durrani Ghalzai gap would be lessened …and now Zalmia the impotent has further widen this gap…anyone familiar with Kabul power structure would know that the brain behind impotent Zalmia is Karzia/Spanta. All Zalmai wishes for is to engage in coitus with his cousins in foreign minstery palace and enjoy a glass of wine with his dinner. He is totally worthless when it comes to leadership, symbolic weak Pashtuns like him and Ghafoorzai are favorite of Punjshirs.

If the election goes to second round there is still hope for Ghani, giving he can awake the sleeping Pashtuns.
In final analyst the election has no legitimacy with more than 1000 polling station being closed in Pashtun area!

[Khostai]

Those peopel may joined Abdullah, but the people who supported them and voted for them are now supporting Ghani, its doesn't matter what does money *****s do, more important is who the voters of this people going to support.
And I am glad they joined Abdullah at least they have now shown there true faces.

[HalloIsBack]

Tomorrow, Mr. Sayyaf is going to join Dr. Abdullah

still no news that he joined to abdullah's team

[Bost Bastan News]

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140513/afghan-election-results-face-possible-delay