UN, Afghan Officials Cannot Agree On Election Timetable

6 July 2004 -- Afghan and United Nations officials have failed to agree on a date for national elections after talks in Kabul.
A vote for president still appears likely in September or October but Afghan Agriculture Minister Hussain Anwari said he feared logistics for the parliamentary vote would not be ready for the same time.

Electoral officials face attacks by Taliban insurgents who want to block the poll. And they still lack census data to calculate the distribution of seats in the future parliament. Laws on campaign finance and media access for candidates are also still being worked out.

Electoral Commission spokesman Said Mohamed Azam declined to give details about today's talks with UN officials but he said a timetable should be settled "quite soon."

(AP)