Karzai is said to have stolen the last election. But while elections are the holy grail for Americans, there is no tradition of Afghan rulers coming to power by Western-style elections. For Americans, elections confer legitimacy. In Afghanistan, as Boston University’s Thomas Barfield has pointed out, it is what a ruler does that ensures legitimacy. Sadly, elections have not served Afghanistan well. Most have been so flawed that the whole democratic process has suffered.
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