KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — The campaign for nationwide elections in Afghanistan got off to a subdued start Tuesday, shadowed by security fears and marked by the chronic disorganization that characterizes most large-scale endeavors here.
None of the three main presidential candidates made a public appearance on the first official day of the two-month campaign. Out in Afghanistan's vast hinterlands, many candidates for provincial assemblies stayed home, saying traditional campaign activities such as rallies would be far too dangerous.
In Kabul, the capital, campaign workers were out before dawn, plastering walls and utility poles and the city's few trees with campaign posters. By midday, many of the posters had been torn down, defaced or papered over with a rival's image.
The ballot for the Aug. 20 vote is laden with 41 presidential candidates, most of whom are considered to have little chance of victory. The only qualifications for running for president are holding Afghan citizenship and being at least 40 years old.
Last week, when the final list of candidates was compiled, the head of the election commission told reporters he was "ashamed" that lawmakers had failed to set basic requirements for seeking the country's highest office, such as the ability to read and write. Some candidates, he said, were illiterate.
Providing a secure environment for the vote will be an enormous challenge for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and U.S. forces in a country where a burgeoning insurgency has rendered large swaths of territory unsafe for travel, particularly in the south.
In Helmand, the country's largest opium-producing region and the scene of heavy fighting between coalition troops and the Taliban, officials said this week that five of the southern province's 13 districts were outside the government's control.
Western commanders have described election security as a key undertaking, and President Obama's decision to deploy 21,000 extra U.S. troops here over the summer was driven in part by the desire to safeguard the vote.
Hamid Karzai, who has led the country since world leaders appointed him president in 2001, is the front-runner. However, his popularity has slid sharply during the last two years, and polls suggest that he might have trouble garnering the 50% of votes needed to win outright. In that case, a runoff would be held in the fall.
