Afghanistan postpones parliamentary vote

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan and Dubai — Under strong international pressure to reform Afghanistan’s electoral system before holding another nationwide vote, the government of President Hamid Karzai today put off balloting for a new parliament until September.

Afghan election officials and Karzai had previously said the voting would take place in May, but Western diplomats had made it clear that their governments would refuse to pick up the tab for any balloting that took place prior to “root-and-branch” electoral reforms.

The West was dismayed and embarrassed by August’s fraud-tarred presidential election, which cost about $120 million. Virtually the entire cost was borne by the international community. Karzai was eventually declared the winner, but about 1 million votes — a third of the ballots cast for him — were thrown out by a fraud-auditing panel.

The announcement of a Sept. 18 election date was made by Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission, which despite its name is heavily influenced by the presidential palace.

It came as Karzai left for an international conference to be held later this week in London, where his government is hoping to shore up international support for the war effort, and also to attract pledges of continuing reconstruction aid.

Among some NATO allies, support for Karzai’s government has been falling amid doubts the Afghan leader will move aggressively to clean up corruption in his government. Sunday’s announcement was seen as an effort on his part to make clear he was willing to carry out reforms.

Although Karzai had been under intense behind-the-scenes pressure to put off the parliamentary vote, Western diplomats’ public reaction to the move was low-key, lest they appear to be trampling Afghanistan’s sovereignty.

Both the U.S. Embassy and the U.N. mission to Afghanistan issued carefully worded statements saying they respected the Afghan government’s decision.

The growing military cost of the Afghan conflict is likely to be a theme at both the London conference and a separate gathering Karzai will attend in Turkey. Military officials said today that three more American soldiers had been killed in separate explosions in southern Afghanistan.

Roadside bombs, or improvised explosive devices, amount for the overwhelming majority of Western troop deaths and injuries.

Most of the 30,000 additional American troops arriving this year are likely to be deployed in the south, which is an epicenter of both the insurgency and the drug trade. U.S. Marines are expected to embark soon on a major new offensive in Helmand province, where much of the heaviest fighting has occurred.

Faiez, a special correspondent, reported from Kabul and staff writer King from Dubai.

laura.king@latimes.com