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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7553
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000457 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2019 
TAGS: PGOV AF
SUBJECT: DIPLOMATIC COMMUNITY ON KARZAI'S ELECTION DATE 
DECREE 
 
REF: A. KABUL 455 
     ¶B. KABUL 372 
 
Classified By: CDA Christopher Dell for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY.  Representatives of the international 
community agreed with the Charge in a 3/1 meeting to react 
calmly to President Karzai's election date decree, one day 
after the Karzai instructed the Independent Election 
Commission (IEC) to set an election date in accordance with 
the Constitution (ref A).  The previously announced 8/20 
election date received unanimous support at the meeting from 
officials representing 15 foreign missions and international 
organizations.  Representatives told the Charge they believed 
the IEC and Afghanistan's political establishment would soon 
return to a consensus that acknowledged the impracticality or 
impossibility of a spring election.  Representatives 
expressed more concern that Afghan leaders still needed to 
reach a consensus on presidential continuity and agree on 
steps to ensure full confidence in a free and transparent 
election.  End Summary. 
 
U.S. Position 
------------- 
 
¶2. (C) On 3/1, the Charge met with representatives of 15 
foreign missions and international organizations to discuss 
Karzai's 2/28 decree and to outline the U.S. position on the 
election date and post-5/22 presidential continuity.  The 
U.S. supports the underlying principles articulated in 
Karzai's decree, but remains firmly committed to the 8/20 
election date.  August elections are the best means to ensure 
every Afghan citizen can express his or her political 
preference in a secure environment.  Moreover, the U.S. 
believes a Karzai-led interim or caretaker government should 
lead the country between 5/22 and the inauguration of the 
next president in order to maintain the strongest central 
government possible to face the expected increase in Taliban 
attacks over the summer months.  The U.S. also understands 
that Karzai and opposition leaders will have to agree on 
certain limitations on executive authority during the interim 
period in order to allay the opposition's concerns that 
Karzai would improperly use government resources to benefit 
his re-election campaign. 
 
Reactions From Internationals 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Foreign representatives were appreciative of the 3/1 
U.S. public statement backing the 8/20 date and supported the 
Charge's efforts to encourage Afghan leaders to negotiate an 
agreement on presidential continuity that protects the 
legitimacy of the election and stability of the country. 
Indian Ambassador Jayant Prasad called the U.S. statement 
"perfect."  Canadian Charge Ben Rowswell expected his 
government to issue a similar statement later the same day. 
Representatives from France, NATO, China, and Japan also 
explicitly thanked the U.S. for releasing its statement and 
the French Charge said he expected a statement from Paris. 
 
¶4. (C) All representatives agreed that we should not 
over-react to the significance of Karzai's announcement, 
noting that the decree did not specifically call for a spring 
election.  Most representatives viewed the decree as a means 
for Karzai to demonstrate sufficient constitutional due 
process to the opposition before proceeding with an August or 
later election.  EU Special Representative Ettore Sequi 
called Karzai's move "the beginning, not the end of a long 
process. We don't need to dramatize this process, we need to 
downplay it."  UK Charge Andrew Patrick worried that 
overreactions would "perpetuate the idea that the country is 
on the edge of constitutional collapse, when we're nowhere 
near that." 
 
¶5. (C) All agreed a spring election was logistically 
impossible.  Scott Smith, special assistant to UNAMA SRSG Kai 
Eide, said any attempt to adhere to the Constitution with a 
spring election would violate the electoral law, with 
deadlines for candidate registration and vetting for an April 
election already missed.  Smith expected the IEC would 
thoroughly outline the factors against a spring election in 
the next 7-10 days.  IEC staffers have promised to wait until 
Eide returns to Afghanistan in order to consult with him 
before issuing a response to Karzai's decree. 
 
Thoughts on the Way Forward 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Following Karzai's decree, representatives agreed the 
larger challenge remains the issue of post-5/22 presidential 
continuity and negotiations over the shape of an interim 
government.  Russian Ambassador Zamir Kabulov admitted he had 
 
KABUL 00000457  002 OF 002 
 
 
"more questions than answers" regarding the options various 
Afghan leaders have proposed to resolve the dilemma.  He said 
Karzai would need to save face after this week's announcement 
and may need to "keep his options open" with regard to 
calling a Loya Jirga.  German Ambassador Werner Hans Lauk 
reported that Karzai was confident he could restrict any Loya 
Jirga discussion to only the election date and presidential 
continuity. 
 
¶7. (C) Sequi said Karzai preferred not to associate the word 
"caretaker" with any arrangement he may lead over the summer, 
as the concept recalled negative experiences in Afghanistan's 
recent history with caretaker governments.  India's Prasad 
said he would counsel Afghans that in many countries 
governments resign and become caretaker governments by 
definition during election campaigns, including his own.  He 
was optimistic Karzai and opposition leaders could eventually 
accept that a caretaker government of some kind during 
elections season could be an acceptable model for 
Afghanistan.  The Charge encouraged attendees to keep pushing 
Afghans to resolve the issue in a manner that protected the 
8/20 election date and preserved the country's stability.  He 
requested twice during the conversation for the 
representatives to have their governments issues similar to 
the U.S. one.  Representatives agreed to keep each other 
updated on their progress and to continue, as Kabulov said, 
to speak "with one voice -- the American voice" when 
appropriate (ref B). 
 
Attendees 
--------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Foreign officials present at the 3/1 meeting with 
the Charge were: 
 
- Canadian Charge Ben Rowswell 
- Chinese Charge Li Bijian 
- Dutch Ambassador Hans Blankenberg 
- EU Special Representative Ettore Sequi 
- French Charge Jean-Francois Fitou 
- German Ambassador Werner Hans Lauk 
- Indian Ambassador Jayant Prasad 
- Italian Ambassador Claudio Glaentzer 
- Japanese Political Counselor Masayuki Takashima 
- NATO Senior Civilian Representative Fernando Gentilini 
- Pakistani Charge Mansoor Ahmad Khan 
- Russian Ambassador Zamir Kabulov 
- Turkish Political Officer Murat Ugurluoglu 
- UK Charge Andrew Patrick 
- UNAMA Special Assistant to SRSG Scott Smith 
DELL