KABUL, Afghanistan -- The party workers sat on metal folding chairs, taking notes as three instructors explained the simple principle behind Afghanistan's upcoming parliamentary elections.
"In a democratic society, the people vote for someone to represent them," said Hashmatullah Wahidi. "Then whenever people have problems, they can express it to their representative and he can solve it. . . . Any questions?"
From left, Maryam Shahab, Zuhal Wardak, Mohammed Aghar Zakhiel, Nasima Sadat and Abdul Razaq Loqman attend a class on democracy.
(Photos N.c. Aizenman -- The Washington Post)
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A middle-aged woman wearing a gold head scarf rose from her seat, an agitated expression on her face.
"But we all know that many of the governors in the provinces are warlords," said Pashtana Ahadi Wardak, an official of the Afghan Social Democratic Party. "They are going to intimidate people living under them to vote for their candidates. So how can you say we will have free and fair elections?"
There was an awkward silence as the instructors, sponsored by the Washington-based National Democratic Institute, exchanged nervous glances. Wardak had hit upon one of the more vexing obstacles along Afghanistan's rocky path to self-governance.
On Oct. 9 the nation reached an important milestone when Hamid Karzai won its first democratic presidential election. But analysts and some Afghan officials say there is little doubt that the next step -- elections for parliament, 34 provincial councils and nearly 400 district councils -- will need to be pushed back. Although slated for late April or May, the elections will more likely take place in summer or early fall.
The expected delay is partly due to continued debate over the nature of Afghanistan's emerging political system -- including not just whether the sway of local strongmen can be checked, but how much power political parties should be allowed in a nation that was ravaged by factional violence for more than two decades.
There are also logistical holdups. According to a law adopted last year, the president must announce the boundaries of Afghanistan's electoral districts at least 120 days before the election. After years of war, old land surveys and population figures are unreliable. A government team dispatched to update them has yet to deliver its findings, and even if the boundaries were published today, elections could not be held until June.
Once a date is set, the government will also have to raise an estimated $130 million from international donors to pay for the elections. The joint group of United Nations and Afghan officials charged with running the elections will then need time to print and deliver millions of ballots for more than 400 races.
They will also need to educate voters in hundreds of remote villages on how to participate, register hundreds of thousands of Afghans who have returned to the country or turned 18 since the presidential election, and vet up to 4,000 candidates to ensure that anyone with a criminal past is disqualified.
The challenge will be especially difficult since few of the people who ran the presidential election are still active. Most international election workers left Afghanistan soon after the vote, officials said. The Afghan election commission is also completely new, with members appointed by Karzai only last month.
The prospect of a delay has put Karzai in an ambiguous position. As long as Afghanistan lacks a parliament, he is effectively free to rule by decree. Yet this practice could also undermine the legitimacy Karzai gained through the presidential election -- which, despite some irregularities, was hailed for high voter turnout and almost no violence.
"Politically, from the president's point of view, I think it would be very desirable for the parliamentary elections to take place as scheduled," said Karzai's spokesman, Jawed Ludin.
Still, even members of Karzai's administration say they worry that races for the provincial and district councils could provoke bloodshed.
