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Opposition politicians said they were happy that an election date was set, but had hoped it would be later in the month
-- which they said the constitution allows. They said they were worried that Afghanistan's long winter, often marked by heavy snowfalls, could hamper some voters and the campaign. "The decision which has been made by the IEC is according to the constitution but there is one problem. The campaign period is two months before the elections and it will be winter, so there will not be access to many parts of the country during that period," said Fazel Sangcharaki, a spokesman for the opposition National Front. Its leader, Abdullah Abdullah, was Karzai's main rival in the last elections. Another uncertainty will be the state of the war against the Taliban and other insurgent groups. Conflict prevented a turnout in many parts of Afghanistan during the last elections. Insurgents have been battling NATO and Afghan troops for 11 years and still control parts of the country's east and south. That violence has not abated. Seventeen Afghan civilians were killed on Wednesday -- 11 of them in two separate incidents involving roadside bombs in the Musa Qala district of southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, the provincial governor's office said in a statement. Another roadside bomb in the Mariof district of Kandahar province killed six people traveling in a car, said local government spokesman Javeed Faisal.
[Associated
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