Afghanistan to Postpone Presidential Election by Three Months

Afghan election officials have announced that the April presidential election is going to be postponed for at least three months. A new date is not set but is expected in either late July or early August.

Officially, this is the result of potential candidates being unable to meet registration requirements, and is intended to buy more time for that, and to allow them to hold a proper election later in the year.

In reality, the US has been publicly urging Afghanistan to “cancel” the election to support ongoing US-Taliban negotiations. Recent talks have suggested the US is offering te Taliban positions in a new “caretaker” government which would replace the existing Afghan government outright.

US negotiators have envisioned having a deal in place somewhere around April, and thought having an election would complicate those efforts. The Taliban hasn’t said anything about this particular election, but considers the Afghan government as a US proxy, and of little importance on its own. This is why Taliban negotiators are saying any deal requires the US to withdraw from the country.