Kabul
Hamid Karzai, who was declared the winner of Afghanistans first presidential election, said this week that he would use his five-year term to rein in the warlords and druglords who still control much of the country. The Afghan people have placed their trust in us, for which we are very grateful, Karzai said. They voted for a government based on laws and institutions, and that is what we are going to provide. Karzai won more than 55 percent of the vote, and his three top rivalsformer education minister Yunus Qanooni, ethnic Hazara chief Mohammed Mohaqeq, and ethnic Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostumaccepted his victory. Karzai wont reveal his new Cabinet until after his inauguration, later this month, but he said it would not include the faction leaders who obstructed his efforts while he was interim president.
