Herat, Afghanistan ? Afghanistan’s president urged voters Tuesday to support honest candidates in landmark legislative elections this weekend amid concerns that warlords and others with violent backgrounds are on the ballot.

Speaking to tribal elders and government officials in the western city of Herat, President Hamid Karzai also called on the international community not to turn its back on his war-shattered nation after Sunday’s polls, saying more foreign aid is needed.

In Berlin, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said a key topic of discussion with his fellow NATO defense ministers will be the alliance’s move to take on more in Afghanistan.

“Over time it would be nice if NATO would develop counterterrorist capabilities that don’t exist at the current time,” he said. “That probably will be the last piece they take.”

In New York, the U.N. Security Council extended the authorization for the NATO-led peacekeeping force, stressing the importance of extending government authority throughout the country and disarming all illegal armed groups. The force’s mandate was extended to October 2006.

In a television interview broadcast Tuesday, Karzai said the U.S.-led coalition needs to reconsider the way it is fighting Taliban-led rebels. His comments came after six months of fierce battles that have left more than 1,200 people dead.

Sunday’s elections are the final formal step toward democracy on a path laid out after U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001.

An Afghan policeman sits Tuesday under a column adorned with posters of candidates for the forthcoming parliamentary elections, in the western Afghan city of Herat.

In the Afghan capital, Kabul, about 100 people protested a decision by U.N.-backed election observers to disqualify one of the 21 candidates removed from the ballot for suspected links to armed groups.

Dozens of armed police watched the peaceful demonstration outside the U.N. headquarters but did not intervene.

Despite the disqualifications, human rights groups claim several other regional strongmen with ties to militias remain on the ballot, raising fears that this weekend’s key step toward democracy may be undermined by the very men it is trying to marginalize.

Karzai defended the electoral lineup, saying voters need to make careful decisions.

“It is up to each of us to vote for a good person … Don’t vote for bad people,” he said. “Don’t be afraid during the elections. There is only you and God in the polling booth … No one can force you to vote a certain way.”