Afghanistan's historic election campaign has begun, pitting 17 hopefuls against interim leader Hamid Karzai in the race to become the impoverished country's first popularly elected president.

The US-backed incumbent inaugurated a rare new factory on Tuesday and promised to help Afghans out of poverty, while the lone female challenger wowed widows with a tirade against warlords.

But the danger that violence could mar a contest supposed to cement the country's recovery since the ouster of the ruling Taliban militia in 2001 was underlined by fresh battles with militants in the south that killed at least seven people.

Karzai and his challengers have 30 days to try to impress the roughly 10.6 million Afghans registered to vote. But the start of the campaign was low key.

Three candidates briefed reporters in a dank government ministry; others were busy preparing for the anniversary this week of the death of legendary anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massood.

Female candidate

Still, Massooda Jalal, the female candidate, won an enthusiastic endorsement for the October 9 vote from widows at a bakery near the capital's war-damaged zoo.

"Those people who betrayed you and destroyed your homes and who killed your loved-ones, they have no place in my government," she told about 50 women dressed in head-to-toe veils under a tree in the yard.

"Like a doctor, I want to treat Afghanistan's wounds... Like a mother, I will improve the life of the Afghan family," the former UN worker said to wild applause.

Karzai, whose dashing profile in the West has helped raise billions of dollars in aid pledges, remains the favorite. Still, the bewildering range of candidates and the country's deep ethnic divides could split the vote widely and force him into a runoff.

The president cut a ribbon to inaugurate a US$10 million cooking oil plant in the capital -- an event dovetailing with his pledge to raise living standards.

He urged more investors to create jobs and wealth, and told Afghans to buy home-produced goods. He did not mention the election directly.

"The quality should be competitive with Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and other countries in the region, even with America," he told some 500 dignitaries in a tent outside the factory.

"One day I hope we can make car engines."

Karzai will announce his manifesto in the coming days, his campaign spokesman said. But it was unclear how much concerns for his safety will allow to him to stump for votes around the country.

Muscular bodyguards from a US firm targeted by an August 29 car bomb in Kabul watched his every move on Tuesday.

Spokesman Hamed Elmi said Karzai would visit the provinces, but added that much of the traveling would be done by his two deputies.

He also said Karzai was open to the idea of a media-moderated debate with his rivals.

Security concern

A dozen election workers have been killed in shootings and bombings during voter registration, and the capital is on edge after the car bombing, which killed at least seven people.

Taliban, the main force in a stubborn insurgency bedeviling mainly the south and east, was thought to be responsible for the attack.

On Tuesday, officials said one Afghan soldier and six rebels were killed in the latest clashes with US and government troops in Zabul Province.

The US military, which is helping provide security for the vote, has warned that attacks could increase in the run-up to election day.

The United Nations also fears that local militia chieftains could use their guns to intimidate both voters and candidates to secure a favorable result.

Election delayed

Both the presidential and parliamentary polls were due to be held last June, but were delayed due to security and logistical concerns. Parliamentary elections were put off until next April because resources are overstretched.

There are 18 candidates for the October vote, but the field is expected to be whittled down as the weakest candidates form alliances.

More than 10.6 million of a population of between 25 million and 28 million have registered to vote, far surpassing earlier expectations but raising allegations of multiple registrations.

Voting will also take place among the hundreds of thousands of Afghans still living as refugees in neighboring Pakistan and Iran, where campaigning is also technically permitted.

Victory requires 51 percent of the vote, otherwise a run-off will be called, which could delay results until November.

Karzai's closest challenger appears to be former Education Minister Yunus Qanuni, a leading member of the Northern Alliance, the grouping of ethnic minority factions that united against the Taliban militia and helped overthrow it in 2001.

He must bind the Northern Alliance's myriad factions if he is to have a hope of beating Karzai, a task no one has yet managed.

Qanuni appears to have the support of powerful Defence Minister and Northern Alliance leader Mohammad Qasim Fahim, who had once been tipped as Karzai's running mate, as well as that of his long-time colleague, Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

(China Daily September 9, 2004)