On 1 November, former Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah withdrew from Afghanistan´s contentious second round of polling, which would have pitted him against incumbent President Hamid Karzai for a run-off six days later. The following day, the poll was cancelled and Karzai was again named president, for another five-year term. Himal Southasian´s contributing editor in Kabul, spoke with Abdullah shortly thereafter.
AM: What is your strategy for the future?
AA: My movement will continue. Right now it consists of many, many parties. It was during the end of the campaign season when things started gaining momentum the way that I had expected or anticipated, but it has more potential throughout the country and this will fill the vacuum that has been there for years. I have already started discussions with different components [of the movement].
There are probably people among your supporters who aspire to join the government?
It's possible, it's possible. But those who want to join the movement will be much more than those who aspire to go in another direction. This movement has proved itself by sticking to the rule of law, to the principles, to the values, the non-violent attitude. You might remember the fears of violence. We have proved that this is a forward-looking movement rather than one that is stuck in the past. Rather than being interested in positions of power, we are working to bring changes and promoting ideas and serving the interests of the country. I think already the movement has passed some tests, but I will not say these are all the tests it will go through. Some people will still be hesitant before we take further steps, but I think it is a movement that has a future.
Your movement seems to have political leverage. How will you use this in the next few critical weeks?
I will push for ideas for the betterment of life for the people of Afghanistan. Eventually, it is not just who becomes the president that is going to shape the future of the country, but it is the role the people of the country play. I will call for reform, for change, for good governance, for upholding the rule of law and reform in institutions. For example, if there was any lesson from this process, [it is that] we need an independent election commission and a clean one. And we do need an independent judiciary. We do need changes in the system so that the people are true participants. The faith of the people in the process has to be restored.