U.N.'s Eide welcomes Afghan election delay

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Afghan lawmakers made the right decision by delaying parliamentary elections by four months because of logistical concerns, a top U.N. envoy said.

Afghan election officials said they opted to delay elections from May 22 to Sept. 18 because of "constraints" on financing the election and "logistical obstacles" to improving election procedures.

Afghanistan earned the praise of the international community for holding independent presidential elections in August. That praise diminished, however, when it emerged that the elections were mired in fraud.

International donors said they were reluctant to back another round of elections without appropriate safeguards in place.

Kai Eide, the outgoing U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, said holding parliamentary elections in May would be "extremely difficult" given fraud concerns and the influx of foreign troops.

The delay, he said, "provides time to make improvements to the electoral process based on lessons learned during the presidential and provincial council elections in 2009."

Eide's reputation was tarnished in the wake of the August elections when his deputy, Peter Galbraith, accused the envoy of ignoring evidence of fraud before the vote.

Eide chose not to extend his term with the United Nations. An announcement on his replacement is expected at a London conference on Afghanistan later this week.