KABUL, Oct 3 (AFP) - President Hamid Karzai has reaped an advantage from his position during the runup to Afghanistan's election, benefiting from greater media coverage than his rivals, according to a report on political rights published Sunday.
The report by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and United Nations covers political rights in Afghanistan from August 24 to September 30.
"President Karzai is indeed by far the personality getting the largest space in public and private print media at 34 percent of the overall average," said the report, the third of its kind.
Before the presidential race was officially launched on September 7, Karzai had got 55 percent of the media coverage of candidates, it said.
On television, Karzai also received 31 percent of airtime reserved for candidates, with his main rival and former education minister Yunus Qanooni and French-speaking poet Abdul Latif Pedram also featuring prominently, it said.
The commission had sent a letter to Karzai asking him to give up public events, such as inaugurations, which were seen as likely to favour him during the campaign for the October 9 election.
Despite regulations against engaging in election activity, it also noted many government officials and military commanders across the country were seen to engage openly in campaign activities in favor of particular candidates during working hours.
In particular, among the examples of open support, the commission noted intimidation of voters by supporters of Karzai and Qanooni.
Lastly, it said none of the 18 candidates has handed in campaign accounts to the election commission, as required by law.