Abdullah warns of 'fraud' in Afghan runoff poll

In Afghanistan, presidential contender Abdullah Abdullah has called for measures to prevent a repeat of fraud in the forthcoming second round election face-off with President Hamid Karzai.

Abdullah made the comments after a UN-backed commission, pushed by Western leaders of NATO members, claimed widespread vote rigging in favor of Karzai during the August vote and trimmed his 55% share of the vote to just below 50 percent, to force a new vote.

The United Nations has 'promised' that all necessary measures will be taken to prevent fraud in the run-off election.

Questions have been raised about such promises by the UN since it also had a major role in overseeing the first election.

However, the UN does caution that the next vote will not be perfect either, adding that the current insecurity in the country will hamper efforts to hold the run-off as flawless as possible.

Also, the European Union has declared that it is not able to send monitors for the next election. It has cited 'safety concerns' and the short notice as the reasons for the decision.

The second round is due to be held on November seventh despite the prospect of severe weather conditions and persisting security risks for voters.

Observers raise concerns about the legitimacy of the next election, raising doubts about the extent of voter participation when the Europeans, who pushed for another round of votes, express “safety concerns” for their own monitors but expect the Afghan population be unfazed by the lack of security that NATO an US has brought to their country.

It is widely believed that the UN, backed by western nations, forced the second round election to give their favorite candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, another chance to defeat the incumbent President Hamid Karzai, who has fallen out of their favor.