By Matthew Green in Kabul
Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, took a step towards placating allies dismayed by his anti-western outbursts yesterday by announcing he would replace two senior election officials accused of bias.
Strained relations between Mr Karzai and the west hit one of their rockiest patches this week after he gave a series of speeches accusing foreigners of trying to manipulate Afghan politics and orchestrating rigging at last year's flawed presidential polls.
Tension escalated on Tuesday, when the White House said it was considering cancelling an invitation for him to visit Washington next month after he made further remarks singling out the US for criticism.
The rift has exposed the lack of leverage the US exerts over a leader whose co-operation will be vital in deciding whether an ambitious counter-insurgency strategy based on forging a new social contract between Afghans and their government can defeat the Taliban.
In an apparently conciliatory gesture, Mr Karzai met a western demand for the removal of the head and deputy head of the country's Independent Election Commission, which diplomats believe turned a blind eye to attempts to rig the poll in his favour.
Waheed Omer, the president's spokesman, called a news conference yesterday to offer assurances that Mr Karzai's comments would not affect Afghanistan's relations with the west and announce the departure of the two officials.
Mr Omer said Mr Karzai had accepted the resignation of Azizullah Ludin, the IEC director, whose term is expiring. The president had also accepted the resignation of Daoud Ali Najafi, the chief electoral officer. Both men deny favouritism.
However, diplomats point out that under their leadership, the IEC accepted hundreds of thousands of votes into Mr Karzai's tally that were later thrown out by a separate, UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission, depriving Mr Karzai of outright victory. Mr Karzai's main challenger quit a planned run-off, allowing him to win by default.
Western countries and United Nations officials desperate to avoid a repeat of the rigging that marred the presidential poll at legislative elections due in September have been pushing Mr Karzai to replace the pair. An international official said Mr Karzai had already agreed several months ago to make new IEC appointments, but said the timing of the announcement appeared designed to ease strains with the west.
A western diplomat cautiously welcomed the news, but warned the credibility of election authorities would depend in part on who Mr Karzai chose as replacements.
Moves by Mr Karzai to assert control over the ECC have also angered western countries, who believe he is attempting to defang the one institution that proved an effective bulwark against fraud.
Financial Times
