Afghan Parliamentary Election Delayed Four Months

The Afghan government announced today that its parliamentary election, initially scheduled for May 22, would be postponed under September 18 due to lack of funds and tepid response from international donors expected to pay for it.

The United Nations had already made it clear that they would not endorse the May vote unless Afghanistan completely rehauled their election process. The August 2009 Presidential vote saw millions of fraudulent ballots cast on behalf of the winner, incumbent Hamid Karzai.

But with Afghanistan’s parliament recessed until spring, there was little time and even less inclination to make such changes. The Afghan government had been seeking $50 million in international donations to pay for the election, but donors were reportedly unwilling to provide the funds after the August debacle and the subsequent cancellation of the November run-off.

The United Nations praised the delay, but reports suggest that some NATO members, including Britain, had sought an even longer delay, not holding another election until well into 2011.