Karzai criticized for changing Afghan poll watchdog

Afghan President Hamid Karzai adjusts his hat before his speech at the 46th Conference on Security Policy in Munich February 7, 2010.

KABUL (Reuters) - Western nations on Wednesday piled criticism on President Hamid Karzai's decision to remove foreign observers from a U.N.-backed electoral watchdog and Afghanistan's main opposition called the move "autocratic."

The five-member Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), tasked with reviewing voting fraud, previously had three foreign members appointed by the United Nations and last year nullified a third of Karzai's votes in the presidential poll as fraudulent.

Karzai's decree to change the law could raise doubts over the panel's independence and set off new political tensions as foreign and local troops press ahead with an offensive against the Taliban in an early test of U.S. President Barack Obama's build-up of troops.

Karzai's comments could also put him in a new conflict with Western donors who have said they will not fund September 18 parliamentary elections without electoral reforms.

The opposition National Front urged donor nations, legislators and other political parties to develop a mechanism to guarantee transparent elections.

"This shows that Mr. Karzai is using one of his autocratic methods by not consulting with parliament, civil society and political parties," Front spokesman Fazel Sangcharaki said.

In Washington, a U.S. official said Karzai's decision was "a cause for real concern as it is inconsistent with his statements to senior officials" -- including U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry -- over the elections.

The official, who declined to be named as his comments were critical of Karzai, would not provide details of those private conversations.

NATO coalition member Canada also expressed concern it could weaken the watchdog and imperil the credibility of the parliamentary elections.

"A strong and independent ECC is vital for the future of a democratic Afghanistan, and any efforts to weaken this body are disturbing," Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said.

WAITING FOR APPOINTMENTS

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said his government will be "extremely concerned" to see who is nominated.

"We will have to see who he appoints, because that will obviously be a very important indication of the sort of independence that might exist or not," he said in London.

Free and fair elections are part of a Western strategy to return the nation to stability while a NATO-led military operation battles a renewed Taliban insurgency with the aim of returning all of Afghanistan to the Karzai-led government.

"This is a blow to the process of universal, fair and free elections," Afghan opposition lawmaker Fawziya Koufi said.

Once a darling of the West, Karzai has been under fire over poor governance and for failing to clamp down on corruption and the illegal drugs industry, both of which are seen to be feeding the Taliban-led insurgency.

Yet Karzai has overcome crises. He has secured the support of regional power brokers belonging to various ethnic groups and won the presidential poll by giving them positions in the government.

Sayed Yousuf Halim, head of the Justice Ministry's legislation department, said the decree took effect on February 13.

Karzai now has the power to choose the ECC's members after consulting with the chief justice and heads of parliament's two chambers, he said.

On Tuesday, Karzai's spokesman, Siamak Herawi, said the Afghan government had long wanted to "Afghanize" the electoral process. He said parliament could not overturn the law, since Karzai signed it into effect when the legislature was in recess.

Analysts say the election watchdog move could play into the hands of the Taliban if its triggers more controversy.

"He (Karzai) saw how the presidential election played out and is now trying to ensure that he doesn't face the same problems in the parliamentary polls, one where he will be dealing with multiple opponents as opposed to one," said Kamran Bokhari, regional South Asia director at global intelligence firm STRATFOR.

"Ultimately, this works to the advantage of the Taliban, especially in the context of the U.S. surge."

Opponents criticized the national elections body for failing to halt last year's fraud, which the ECC documented before throwing out nearly a million votes. That left Karzai faced with a runoff until his opponent pulled out.

(Additional reporting by Sue Pleming in Washington; writing by Michael Georgy in Islamabad; Editing by Angus MacSwan and John O'Callaghan)