Karzai Offered Jamiat-e Islami Money to Support His Candidate

With the nomination process coming to an end just a day ago, maneuvering to give certain candidates a leg up in the spring elections has already begun. Atta Muhammad Noor, the Governor of Balkh province and a member of the Jamiat-e Islami Party, on Monday said that President Hamid Karzai offered the JIP money in hopes of recruiting their support for his favored Presidential candidate. "The leadership of Jamiat-e Islami Party has received several recommendations and offers; they offered us the post of First Vice and a blank check, but we did not accept. Let me be clear, even the President made an offer," Governor Noor said in an exclusive interview with TOLOnews. In the lead up to the April elections there has already been considerable speculation about the role President Karzai will play. While many have been quick to cast suspicion about vote-rigging and favoritism, especially with the President's brother Qayum Karzai already registered for the race, Karzai and his supporters have been loud and clear in denouncing such claims and assuring that he plans to play a transparent and largely hands-off role in the election of his successor. Noor said that President Karzai's camp did not specify an individual candidate, but rather recommended several candidates to Jamiat, including Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Dr. Zalmai Rassoul and Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf. "President Karzai had recommendations, but there was no conclusive choice. At times, they were talking about Ashraf Ghani, later Abdurrab Rasoul Sayyaf and then Zalmai Rasoul," Noor said. "We did not accept the recommendation, because there was no unanimity, so we could not come to an agreement." Meanwhile, on Monday, the President spoke in a press conference about non-interference in the lead up to the spring elections. He said he would be doing all he could to make sure foreign powers, as well as members of the current government in Kabul, do not meddle with the elections. He said that while he and his vice presidents would excercise their right to vote come April 5, government resources would not go to any particular candidate. "I will probably vote for a candidate on Election Day, Khalili and Marshal Fahim will also cast their ballots according to their own desire, we have the right to cast our ballots. But I will not allow government resources to be used for specific candidates," Karzai said. If Noor's account is accurate, however, it would appear the President does in fact intend to rally what clout and resources he can behind a preferred candidate, or a handful of favorites, for the spring Presidential elections. Whether or not the funds offered to Jamiat were going to come from Karzai's personal wealth, which is quite considerable, or government funds is unknown. For now, Jamiat is still not publically tied to any specific candidate. But as one of the oldest and most powerful parties in Afghanistan, Jamiat's endorsement would likely put whoever they do decided to support on the shortlist of top competitors. Two prominent Jamiat names have declared independence from the Party ahead of elections: Ismail Khan agreed to be the First Vice-President of Abdurrab Rasoul Sayyaf and Ahmad Zia Massoud the First Vice-President of Dr. Zalmai Rasoul. Nevertheless, Afghan political experts have said that Jamiat is still looking to have a major role in influencing the outcome of the elections. With a troubled recent history of voter fraud and other election improprieties in Afghanistan, holding a free, fair and transparent vote this spring is one of the biggest challenges facing the country. While political maneuvering and campaign finance issues are common in elections around the world, in both developed and developing democracies, Governor Noor's insights into President Karzai's dealings behind the scenes with the Jamiat do not bode well.