Karzai to go ahead with one-man contest

Sun Nov 1, 2009

Following the withdrawal of his only rival from the second round of Afghanistan's presidential elections, Hamid Karzai says he will go ahead with the run-off.

Expressing regret over Abdullah Abdullah's decision to pull out of the poll scheduled for next week, Karzai said on Sunday that he wanted the second round to be held and that he would respect any legal ruling on the run-off election.

"In the light of Afghanistan's constitution and for the sake of democracy and rule of law in Afghanistan, we remain committed and bound to respect the process and will accept any decisions by the Independent Election Commission and other legal institutions," Karzai's office said in a statement.

While Karzai, whose credibility was undermined following the fraudulent first round, says the run-off should take place to give the people of Afghanistan the right to vote, many believe he wants the one-man contest in order to gain legitimacy for a second term in office.

Abdullah Abdullah, who ranked second to Karzai in the first round of voting on August 20, pulled out of the second round of the Afghan presidential election on Sunday after his demands for ensuring a fraud-free election were rejected. He had called for the dismissal of the head of the Afghan Independent Election Commission, Azizullah Lodin, accusing him of rigging the vote in favor of Karzai.

The Afghan constitution lacks a provision in which a candidate withdraws from a run-off and in such an event the Supreme Court will have to make a ruling. Analysts and diplomats, however, say the run-off is likely to take place, ensuring Karzai a second term, but they have predicted a very low turnout because of first-round fraud and Taliban attacks.

"If voter turnout is very, very low, below 20 percent, then even though he will be declared the winner he will lack legitimacy in the eyes of Afghans and the opposition," Haroun Mir, head of Afghanistan's Center for Research and Policy Studies said.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/110177.html.