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| Afghan president urges April poll | Afghan president urges April poll |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has called for elections to be held by 21 April, in keeping with the country's constitution. | Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has called for elections to be held by 21 April, in keeping with the country's constitution. |
| The declaration conflicts with a decision by the electoral commission to hold elections by 20 August. | The declaration conflicts with a decision by the electoral commission to hold elections by 20 August. |
| Mr Karzai's presidential term is due to end on 21 May, creating the potential for a constitutional crisis if polls are held much later. | Mr Karzai's presidential term is due to end on 21 May, creating the potential for a constitutional crisis if polls are held much later. |
| The president has no power to unilaterally choose election dates. | The president has no power to unilaterally choose election dates. |
| Electoral 'contradictions' | |
| According to Article 61 of the country's constitution, elections should be held 30 to 60 days before 22 May, the end of Mr Karzai's five-year term. | |
| International monitors had said it would be difficult to hold a fair election so soon, because of security concerns, bad weather and the logistical challenges of getting ballots. | |
| The Independent Election Commission (IEC) said there was a contradiction between the constitution and electoral law which meant the president could stay in power until October - five years after he won the last election - or December, five years after he took his oath of office, Reuters news agency reported. | |
| The US and other members of the international community supported the IEC's recommendation for an August poll, as the 17,000 foreign troops expected to bolster peacekeeping forces can be used to secure voting stations from the Taleban, reports say. |