Delay will break a constitutional requirement
Afghanistan’s presidential election will be delayed until August—despite a constitutional requirement that they be held by April at the latest. Afghan election officials say they need more time to register candidates and all the military to pacify insurgency-ravaged parts of the country. Afghan President Hamid Karzai was elected to a five-year term in 2004. His mandate expires May 22. Leaders of Afghanistan’s parliamentary opposition say they will consider his presidency illegitimate after that date.