KABUL: Old-style power-broking dominated the first week of campaigning for the run-off round of Afghanistan's presidential election, with the two candidates vying for support from former warlords and powerful tribal leaders ahead of the June 14 vote.
In a departure from the first round, which saw elaborate rallies around the country by a crowded field of presidential hopefuls, the last men standing have hunkered down in Kabul to focus on building alliances.
Knowing little of what is being negotiated behind closed doors, many voters regard the process with cynical disdain.
"There is a game of positioning ongoing. Corrupt personalities with very dark backgrounds are supporting candidates whose slogans are to fight against corruption," said Mohammad Asif Hottak, a doctor in Kabul.
As no candidate won more then 50 percent of the votes in the first round, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani went into a run-off. Although Ghani trailed Abdullah by almost 14 percentage points in the initial vote, he stands to gain a portion of the ethnic Pashtun vote that splintered in the first round.
One alliance to emerge this week was between Abdullah, who is a former anti-Taliban Northern Alliance leader, and a brother of the outgoing president, Hamid Karzai.
Abdullah's move to join hands with Mahmoud Karzai could win him votes in the Pashtun-dominated south, though the president's brother has fought allegations of corruption over the 2010 collapse of Kabul Bank. He denies any wrongdoing.
Abdullah, who is widely supported by ethnic Tajiks, the country's second largest ethnic group, has also secured the backing of two influential Pashtuns who lost their bids for the presidency, Zalmay Rassoul and Gul Agha Sherzai.
Parliament has also tipped in favour of Abdullah, with around 150 members declaring their support for him this week.
Abdullah's rival, Ghani, who is an ethnic Pashtun and former World Bank economist, for his part this week expanded his network of support with other communities.
He has won the backing of Ahmad Zia Massoud, an influential Tajik leader and former vice-president. REUTERS
