Karzai's Talks Raise Some Fears About Afghan Vote

According to several individuals who have attended some of the meetings, the Northern Alliance leaders have demanded key posts in a future Karzai government or leadership roles in parliament in exchange for endorsing Karzai's candidacy. The participants said Fahim and Sayyaf have been acting as Karzai's representatives and will be given senior posts if he is elected.

"Fahim and Sayyaf are trying to persuade the commanders to nominate Karzai, and some of their demands have already been agreed to," said a participant from a major Northern Alliance group. "It's fine to have talks and to get support from well-known figures, but any prior deals cannot be good for democracy and will surely create an outcry among the people."

One source said that at a pivotal meeting Tuesday, the militia leaders demanded that Karzai get rid of a half-dozen technocratic ministers, mostly Pashtuns who returned from the West to help his government. The source said Karzai was highly unlikely to agree to this demand.

Aides to Karzai described the meetings differently, saying the Northern Alliance leaders had sought out the president after being unable to agree on an alternative candidate. They said the leaders seemed eager to become part of the political process and were willing to endorse the economic and security reforms that are the top priority of Karzai's U.S.-backed government.

"The president has no obstacle to engaging with them because his definition has always been inclusive," Jawad Luddin, Karzai's chief spokesman, said Friday. "He has no ethnic or regional or personal agenda. His agenda is for Afghanistan, and whoever thinks they can play a role in a constructive manner can be a partner."

Some Pashtun leaders, however, are said to regard Karzai's outreach to ethnic rivals as a further betrayal of their interests after more than two years in which Northern Alliance figures have held many key posts in the transitional government. Sources said two senior Pashtuns in the Karzai administration, including Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani, are seriously considering challenging him or backing alternative candidates.

Even some Pashtun figures who said they would support Karzai's candidacy expressed disappointment in his leadership, saying he has been unwilling to stand up to regional bosses despite enjoying strong international support -- and is now snubbing his tribal constituents while courting perennial adversaries.

"People were lukewarm before, but now that has turned to bitterness," said a Pashtun tribal leader. "Without the Pashtun vote, Karzai is nothing. We are his natural allies and supporters, but he is ignoring us. It is a huge mistake for him to make deals with people like Rabbani unless he has fortified himself and made sure we are there guarding his back."

Some international observers expressed broader worries, saying the president's deal-making suggests that despite his worldly demeanor and constant invocation of democratic ideals, he is more comfortable with backroom power-brokering and more concerned about winning the election than about bolstering the democratic process.

"Are we here to get one man elected or to help establish a democratic process?" asked a Western election consultant. "Why is Karzai making deals with extremists instead of moderates? His world has always been about making deals among tribes and militias. This election is a new process for Afghanistan. The people seem enthusiastic, but maybe the president isn't ready for it."