VZCZCXRO7519
RR RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #1448/01 1641227
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121227Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4351
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001448 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CRS, EUR/RPM 
NSC FOR WOOD 
OSD FOR WILKES 
CENTCOM FOR CG CSTC-A, CG CJTF-101 POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV AF
SUBJECT: PRT TARIN KOWT - CHORA RESIDENTS TURN OUT TO ELECT 
DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Rozi Khan won an election for Chora's 
district administrator with 30 percent of the total 2600 
ballots cast.  Six candidates, representing four of the 
tribes in the district, vied to replace the interim district 
administrator, an Afghan Army officer.  Normally, the 
Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) appoints 
district administrators, but Governor Hamdam organized the 
elections in an effort to select a district administrator 
whom the differing factions would support.  Hamdam also 
wanted to remove local power broker Jan Mohamed Khan from the 
selection process.  Hamdam had secured the support of the 
IDLG in advance to allow the winner to become the official 
district administrator.  Tribal leaders, elders and local 
mullahs agreed to support the results of the election, but 
Jan Mohamed Khan, who has long enjoyed President Karzai's 
patronage, has already stated that he does not accept Rozi 
Khan's election. 
 
Elections ) Initiated by the Governor and Supported by Elders 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
¶2. (SBU) Governor Hamdam announced in late May that he 
planned to hold elections for district administrators in 
Chora, Khas Uruzgan, and Shahid Hassas.  Hamdam had just 
returned from meetings in Kabul where he complained to 
President Karzai about Jan Mohamed Khan's influence on 
Uruzgan local politics.  (President Karzai has long been 
Khan's patron.  The President's favoritism towards Khan has 
exacerbated Uruzgan's tribal rivalries, which the Taliban 
have exploited.)  Khan is a former Uruzgan governor who 
continues to dominate local politics, including exerting 
pressure on the current governor to select his supporters for 
government posts. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The election was not sanctioned by the Independent 
Election Commission and does not have legal standing. 
However, Hamdam told PRTOff that during meetings in Kabul 
with IDLG Director Popal and Jan Mohamed Khan, they agreed 
that the winners of the elections would become the official 
IDLG-appointed district administrators.  Hamdam believed that 
by holding elections, he would remove Jan Mohamed Khan from 
the selection process and ensure that the district 
administrators had the support of a majority of Chora's 
residents. 
 
¶4. (U) The nomination for the position was open to anyone who 
applied.  The Dutch-led PRT facilitated a district shura a 
few days prior to the election to determine the mechanics and 
to gain commitments that all parties would accept the results 
of the election.  The shura agreed on the minimum voting age 
(18), methods to determine eligibility in the absence of 
voter registration cards and national identification cards 
(village elders would vouch for voters), privacy in the 
ballot room, polling hours and monitoring procedures.  The 
elders decided that the election would mimic Afghan election 
law as nearly as possible, but that Coalition military and 
civilian representatives would act as monitors instead of the 
Independent Election Commission. 
 
The Candidates 
-------------- 
¶5. (U) The initial seven candidates represented five of the 
dominant tribes in Chora.  Rozi Khan (Barakzai) recently 
served as an unpaid caretaker district administrator in Chora 
and is popular with most tribal leaders and Chora residents. 
Ghulam Farooq (Popalzai) was formerly a district 
administrator in Chora and in Khas Uruzgan.  He is viewed as 
neutral to Jan Mohamed Khan.  Yar Mohammed (Achakzai) was a 
former district administrator in Chora and in Deh Rawod and a 
personal friend of Jan Mohamed Khan.  Daru Khaksar lacked any 
power base or tribal affiliations.  He was the most educated 
candidate, having trained as a pharmacist and having had 
other higher education.  Abdul Sadiq (Achakzai) is related to 
Member of Parliament (MP) Abdel Khaliq Khan and to Chora 
leader Malem Sadiq.  Gar Mohammed (Alikozai) is a teacher 
with no tribal affiliations.  Mohammed Naim, who withdrew 
prior to the election, had served as a police administrator 
in Shahid Hassas and is viewed as an outsider in Chora. 
 
Large Turnout of Patient and Orderly Voters 
 
KABUL 00001448  002 OF 002 
 
 
------------------------------------------- 
¶6. (U) The polls opened at the Chora District Center at 7 
a.m., and more than 2000 locals had gathered outside the 
center by 8 a.m.  The crowd was calm and orderly during the 
long wait; some waited more than six hours to vote as 
candidates offered them water and candy and solicited their 
votes.  Throughout the day, Governor Hamdam distributed water 
to the voters and thanked them for coming.  He spoke of the 
importance of picking the best leaders and reminded them that 
they could make their own choices without accepting their 
mullahs or leaders' choices.  Some of the candidates rented 
vehicles to bring voters from the more remote areas.  The 
mood was generally upbeat; several voters stated that they 
were tired of current leaders who "stole from them" and 
wanted to pick someone better. 
 
¶7. (U) Most of the voters did not have voter registration 
cards or national identification cards.  Few had ever voted, 
and monitors explained the voting process to each of the 
voters in the ballot room.  Monitors inked voters' thumbs and 
took their pictures to discourage fraud.  Two younger voters 
attempted to wash off the ink and vote again but were caught 
and detained until after the polls closed at 4 p.m. 
 
¶8. (U) The six candidates, Governor Hamdam, the police 
administrator, Afghan National Army Brigade Commander, Dutch 
Polad and U.S. PRTOff observed as two Tarin Kowt-based judges 
counted the ballots.  Rozi Khan received 851 (30 percent) of 
the 2600 votes counted.  Next was Gar Mohammed with 669 
votes.  Some voters expressed their disappointment with the 
outcome, but there were no demonstrations and the crowd 
dispersed in an orderly fashion. 
 
Jan Mohamed Khan Reacts Negatively 
---------------------------------- 
¶9. (U) Jan Mohamed Khan has protested to the Dutch-led PRT 
that he would not accept Rozi Khan as district administrator. 
 He is reportedly in Chora telling elders that the election 
was rigged and that ballots were destroyed.  The Governor has 
asked the PRT to meet with Jan Mohamed Khan to remind him 
that he agreed in advance to accept the results. 
 
Outstanding ANSF Coordination 
----------------------------- 
¶10. (U) Cooperation among all Afghan National Security Forces 
was excellent.  Insurgents had threatened to disrupt the 
election by attacking the District Center.  The Afghan 
police, army and National Directorate for Security jointly 
planned and executed a layered defense around the city, 
searching all vehicles that entered the town and all 
individuals who entered the center.  Despite the fact that 
the election took place on the one-year anniversary of heavy 
fighting in Chora between Coalition and insurgent forces, 
which resulted in civilian deaths, there were no security 
incidents or violence. 
 
DELL