Afghans exasperated by five more years of Karzai

KABUL (Reuters) - War-weary Afghans, who have endured years of violence and daily hardships imposed by corrupt government officials, expressed little hope that President Hamid Karzai's next five-year term will turn their lives around.

Karzai, in power since the Taliban were toppled in 2001, has vowed to tackle corruption and form an inclusive government that would represent Afghanistan's broad political spectrum.

But many Afghans were skeptical that he would deliver.

"Karzai won the first round through cheating, that's a victory for those who supported him, not all the people of Afghanistan," teacher Fatima Noori said Tuesday.

"We have so many other problems in daily life and the election is not our priority because we don't see any advantages," she said.

Election officials canceled a presidential run-off after the withdrawal of Karzai's opponent, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, who said the run-off was likely to be just as flawed as the fraud-marred first round in August.

Besides living in one of the poorest countries in the world and enduring repeated food shortages, Afghans have also had to deal with a rising Taliban insurgency.

While the United States contemplates sending extra troops to fight the Taliban, Karzai has come under intense pressure to revamp his next cabinet, remove cronies and distance himself from warlords -- demands many Afghans feel will not bear fruit.

"Karzai had to ask for support from warlords and druglords in exchange for future government posts, otherwise he would have lost," shopkeeper Rahim Agha said.

"There is little hope to believe that Karzai will do something different to benefit the lives of ordinary Afghans."

Corruption is endemic in Afghanistan, which ranked 176th out of 180 countries in Transparency International's corruption perceptions index in March.

Karzai gave few details about how he would combat graft.

"If the corrupt officials who have been sucking our blood for long years are dismissed and punished publicly, we will hope for a better future, otherwise the next five years will go in vain," another shopkeeper, Ghafoor Ahmadi, said.

For many Afghans, the future remains bleak.

"Karzai and his team of warlords are not obviously the best choice, but we don't have an option at this time," said government employee Ahmad Nazeer.

(Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Paul Tait and Alex Richardson)