VZCZCXRO5564
RR RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #1595 1730952
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220952Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9609
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KABUL 001595 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS TO AID FOR ASIA/SCAA 
USFOR-A FOR POLAD 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV AF
SUBJECT: KANDAHAR: A SNAPSHOT OF ELECTIONS ACTIVITY IN AN ACTIVE 
PROVINCE 
 
¶1. The first political rally of the campaign season took place in 
Kandahar city on June 18, with an estimated 1000 members of the 
Barakzai tribe holding a rally downtown in support of incumbent 
Hamid Karzai.  The rally was entirely peaceful and apparently not 
organized by the Karzai campaign machine.  The Barakzais, one of the 
more important tribes in Kandahar Province, have generally been 
aligned with Hamid Karzai's half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai (AWK), 
the powerful chairman of the PC, so their support for Karzai is not 
surprising. 
 
¶2. AWK is reportedly spending time in Dubai in connection with his 
mother's medical treatment there.  According to Karzai family 
sources with close connections to ISAF, AWK plans to keep a low 
profile during the campaign season so as not to draw criticism for 
trying to dominate campaign activities in the province in favor of 
Hamid Karzai -- which he would be capable of doing if he so chose. 
 
¶3. The young nephews of AWK and Hamid Karzai, "Zach" and "Ace" 
Karzai (both U.S. citizens from Downers Grove, Illinois) still plan 
to manage the Hamid Karzai campaign in Kandahar.  They have said 
they will make extensive use of spam SMS messaging.  PRT rep 
confirmed that on June 17, he received two Karzai political ads in 
Pashto on his cell phone.  Zach and Ace, like AWK, have said they 
want to keep the Karzai campaign in Kandahar "low key." 
 
¶4.  Kandahar City Mayor Ghulam Haider Hamedi Mohammedzai met with 
many PC candidates last week and explained regulations he plans to 
enforce regarding political advertising and rallies in Kandahar 
City.  He covered how to apply for permits for rallies, how to work 
with Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to ensure that events 
are peaceful, and where political advertising may be displayed. 
 
¶5.  Many campaign posters for Ashraf Ghani are up in Kandahar City, 
as well as a few for Karzai, and even fewer for other candidates. 
Most Karzai advertising has been in the form of new, large posters 
attached to Afghan National Police (ANP) vehicles (not just the 
small windshield portraits these vehicles generally display).  After 
Canadian and U.S. police mentors suggested to Provincial Chief of 
Police BG Matiullah that political advertising by the ANP violates 
campaign laws, the posters appear to be coming off the ANP 
vehicles. 
 
¶6. Three international UNDP-Elect officials moved into 
accommodations at the KPRT Camp Nathan Smith (CNS) on June 21. 
Canadian leadership helped get the UNDP up and running in Kandahar, 
after the UNDP had argued that its personnel would not be active in 
Kandahar without a secure place to reside and work.  The Canadians 
also wanted to be close to UNDP in order to make it easier to get 
information about the elections. 
 
EIKENBERRY