KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Afghans won't go to the polls this spring after the country postponed its parliamentary elections until September. The delayed vote comes on the eve of a major conference in London that will chart a course for the future of the Afghan mission.
Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission said Sunday it pushed back the vote to Sept. 18 from May 22 because the government is short on the cash needed to pay for it.
Money has been slow to trickle in from donor countries wary of a repeat of last year's flawed presidential election, which saw Hamid Karzai returned to power amid widespread allegations of fraud.
Authorities threw out more than a million ballots in August's presidential election, which was marred by widespread vote rigging, low voter turnout and a general lack of security.
Karzai won a second-round vote after his main rival, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of the race over concerns about the fairness of the election.
Independent Election Commission officials say the delay gives Afghanistan time to improve the process.
Fazil Manawi, a senior commissioner, told reporters in the Afghan capital of Kabul the commission needs about $50 million from the international community to pay for the parliamentary election, which is budgeted to cost $120 million.
Manawi also cited logistical challenges and security concerns as obstacles to a spring vote.
The United Nations said the postponement gives Afghan officials more time to learn from and address the problems that plagued the presidential vote.
"This would have been extremely difficult to do by the original date." Kai Eide, the UN's top official in Afghanistan, said in a statement.
Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan, William Crosbie, says Canada supports the commission's decision to delay the vote.
"The 2009 presidential elections, while an important step forward in democratic development, were not without significant problems," he said in a statement.
"It is important that these problems are addressed in advance of the parliamentary elections. We hope that the government of Afghanistan will use the additional time available to implement positive electoral change.
"We encourage the Afghan government and the Independent Election Commission to set the necessary conditions for parliamentary elections that are credible, secure and inclusive."
