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Afghanistan TV debate leaves viewers cold after Hamid Karzai fails to appear |
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Tuesday, 28 July 2009 |
Afghanistan's first ever televised presidential debate struggled to ignite interest among voters in Kabul tonight after Hamid Karzai refused to take part and the programme moderator refused to let his rivals attack his record.
Many diners in the neon-lit restaurants of the capital paid only scant interest to the television screens during what should have been a historic discussion about the country's future.
One group of men who arrived shortly after the beginning of the debate at the popular Herat eating hall immediately walked out when they saw the president had not turned up.
"We're going to find somewhere else to eat without a TV – there's no point without Karzai," said Rahmat Ali, who said he worked on US army contracts.
His friend, Murtaza, a translator at a construction company, agreed, saying Karzai's failure to appear was a "major blow" to his credibility.
"If he can't face the nation then he obviously has no plans for how he will govern for another five years. He has to explain what's gone wrong in the country," he said.
The president pulled out of the debate 24 hours before it was supposed to begin, citing the fact that, with less than four weeks to polling day, he had not yet published his manifesto.
His campaign also argued that Tolo TV, the private channel hosting the debate, was biased against his campaign.
As promised, the station left Karzai's empty podium on a sparse set, consisting of large banners in the colours of the country's flag in case the president had a change of heart and turned up.
Early in the debate the two other participants, former ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, attempted to score points off the president's absence. But Mujahid Kakar, the senior Tolo journalist mediating, cut them off saying their attacks were unfair as Karzai was not there to defend himself.
"I suppose if I criticise government policy you will just say that my brother is not hear to answer for himself," said a frustrated Abdullah at one point.
Many diners who were paying attention to the debate felt that Ghani put in a more effective performance.
Dressed in a traditional Afghan robe, he announced a number of policies, including a plan for compulsory national service and a push for a ceasefire with insurgents and a gradual reduction of foreign forces in the country. One group hanging on Ghani's every word was a crowd of 200 of his supporters in Shar-e-Naw park, watching proceedings on a big screen – cheering even his most obtuse points about electricity from central Asia.
• guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
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