Karzai leads despite his unpopularity

NEW YORK, June 26 (UPI) -- Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai appears poised to win re-election even though most voters view him largely as a failure, political observers say.

Karzai's popularity is sagging amid a Taliban resurgence and chaos envelopes much of a country divided by deep-seated ethnic, religious and tribal rivalries, The New York Times reported. Widely held expectations that Karzai will easily win the election despite his unpopularity have left many Afghans disenchanted, dashing their hopes for progress, and could discourage some from voting, the newspaper said Thursday.

Karzai has managed to win the support of his opponents or reduce them to long shots, the Times said. Often, he relies on government resources like employees, helicopters and airplanes to help his campaign and makes no secret of cutting deals with militia commanders known for brutality and corruption, the newspaper said.

The U.S. government had staunchly supported Karzai, but President Barack Obama recently criticized the Afghan president, pointing to weakness and corruption in his government.

A Karzai victory, the Times said, could thwart American efforts to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"The Americans need to do more to distance themselves," one of Karzai's opponents, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, told the Times. "Otherwise, they will be blamed for the failures of his government by their own public as well as ours."

A recent poll by the International Republican Institute, a non-partisan group supported by the U.S. government, showed only 31 percent of Afghans said they would vote for Karzai, who won 54 percent of the votes in the 2004 election. Despite his low numbers, Karzai fared better than his top two rivals, with 7 percent backing Abdullah, a former foreign minister, and 2 percent backing Ashraf Ghani.

If no candidate garners more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two would compete in a runoff election.

Security during elections likely will fall to U.S. and NATO forces in the rugged, mountainous country.