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CNN Live Today

Karzai Elected to Lead Afghanistan

Aired June 13, 2002 - 14:14   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: From Dallas now on to Afghanistan, where the man who led the country as interim government chairman since December has been elected now to a two-year term as Afghanistan's head of state.

CNN's Gary Tuchman joins us from Kabul with the very latest on Hamid Karzai, hi there, Gary.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Fredricka. Just a few months ago, this was a land that had public executions, morality police, and did not allow girls to go to school. This was the land of the Taliban government. Now, it's a land for the first time today that has elected a president. It has never happened before in Afghanistan.

It happened at the Loya Jirga. That's the Pashtun word for great assembly, a meeting that has been taking place the last few days. They have been doing for century in independent Afghanistan, and the land that preceded it, to solve problems, make decisions, but never to pick a president.

And tonight, the interim president, Hamid Karzai, was voted and elected as the president for the next two years until the summer of 2002, when they hope to hold general elections with the whole population of Afghanistan in 2004; 1,555 delegates voted. Hamid Karzai received 1,295. In second place, interestingly, fascinatingly a woman, Dr. Massouda Jalal. Women couldn't even go out of their house without burqas just a few months ago. This woman ran for president and received 171 votes. In third place, another doctor, Dr. Mahsfuz Medai, 89 votes.

But Hamid Karzai will now serve a two-year term as president of this nation. His path was cleared, because the former king of Afghanistan, who came back after 29 years away, decided he did not want to run for a government post, he did not want the monarchy returned. And also Burhanuddin Rabbani, he was the president before the Taliban came in 1996, he also endorsed Karzai.

The voting was fascinating. The ballot actually had names of all of candidates and also their pictures, because many people, 85 percent of Afghanistan's population is illiterate. It is thought that the delegates who were elected, selected and appointed to attend this assembly. It's not that high of a percentage, but many of them can't read, so they needed to see the pictures to vote. But once again, we have a president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, and we can tell you that his foreign minister and his aides say that the Americans, the allies can stay here in Afghanistan as long as they want with their military might to fight the war on terrorism -- Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks, Gary. And of course, the picture of Hamid Karzai is the vision that the majority of the Afghan people do believe in. All right, thanks very much.

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