Thursday, February 16, 2012

Transmission

Did Karzai Really Pull Out Of Afghan Presidential Debate?

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July 23, 2009

Media reports suggest that the incumbent Afghan President Hamid Karzai pulled out of the first televised debate among the top three contenders in the August 20 election.

What is not clear in the reporting is whether President Karzai ever agreed to participate in the debate.

Karzai's campaign says it received the formal invitation only one day before the debate and that Karzai would only participate in a debate organized by the election commission and open to all Afghan media outlets.

The debate is organized by the privately owned Tolo TV, which claims to be one of the country's most popular TV stations. But Karzai's campaign has accused it of being biased.

In recent years, Tolo TV has had plenty of disagreements with senior Afghan officials over its reporting.

-- Abubakar Siddique
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by: John Kelly from: London
August 07, 2009 20:39
Yes, he did, and yes, he is running scared. Yes, he did offer Ghani the post of 'Chief Executive' in the new regime in an attempt to buy him off. Yes, he will 'win' the upcoming election, unless the increasingly overt intimidation and corruption are exposed by UNAMA. No, they are unlikely to do that, since they wish to uphold the pretence that this costly farce was 'free and fair.'

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Written by RFE/RL editors and correspondents, Transmission serves up news, comment, and the odd silly dictator story. While our primary concern is with foreign policy, Transmission is also a place for the ideas -- some serious, some irreverent -- that bubble up from our bureaus. The name recognizes RFE/RL's role as a surrogate broadcaster to places without free media. You can write us at transmission+rferl.org