Afghanistan’s Presidential Elections Delayed Until July

Kabul, Afghanistan — After weeks of disarray and mixed signals, Afghan officials announced Sunday that the country’s presidential election, scheduled for April 20, will be delayed by three months to ensure the polls are better organized than the chaotic parliamentary elections held in October.

“April will be very difficult because of the harsh winter, transporting election materials, security, and budget issues,” the chairman of the Independent Election Commission, Jan Abdul Bade Sayad, said during a news conference. “To better prepare for the vote, we have decided to hold the election in July.”

But the reasons for the postponement went far beyond the technical glitches and insurgent attacks that marred the parliamentary poll, forcing a one-week voting delay in Kandahar province and an indefinite postponement in Ghazni province after violent attacks in both areas. For the past several months, the government of President Ashraf Ghani has been caught between two sets of competing domestic and international pressures in deciding when to hold the presidential poll

N. Korean Leader Calls For More Talks with South in New Year

Seoul, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a letter to South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday calling for more peace talks between the leaders in the new year following their active engagement in 2018, South Korea’s presidential office said.

Moon’s office said Kim also expressed regret that he couldn’t make a planned visit to Seoul, South Korea’s capital, by the end of December as pledged by the leaders during their last summit in September in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.

The Blue House didn’t fully disclose Kim’s letter.

Moon later thanked Kim for his “warm” letter in a tweeted message and said without elaborating that Kim expressed strong willingness to carry out the agreements he made this year during a series of inter-Korean summits and a historic June meeting with President Donald Trump.

“There will still be a lot of difficulties ahead,” Moon said in his message. “However, our hearts will become more open if we put in that much effort. There’s no change in our heart about welcoming Chairman Kim (to the South).”

Election Official Says Bangladesh’s Ruling Alliance Won

Dhaka, Bangladesh — An election official says Bangladesh’s ruling alliance led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has won Sunday’s election with 288 seats giving it enough to form the government.

Election Commission Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed finished delivering the results of the voting earlier today.

Ahmed said the ruling Awami League-led alliance won 288 seats while Jatiya Party led by former president H.M.Ershad had 20 seats.

An opposition alliance led by prominent lawyer Kamal Hossain had only seven and others got three out of 300 seats. Election to one seat was not held Sunday and results for another seat were halted by the commission.

The results mean Hasina will form the government for the third consecutive time, even as the opposition claims her leadership has become increasingly authoritarian.

— Wire reports