Afghanistan's presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah gestures after announcing his decision not to participate in Afghanistan's run-off election during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. [Agencies]?
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Afghanistan's presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah gestures after announcing his decision not to participate in Afghanistan's run-off election during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. [Agencies]? |
KABUL: The Afghan Independent Election Commission Monday announced the presidential run-off election has been canceled with sitting President Hamid Karzai winning the election.
Abdullah put forward some conditions one week ago to ensure the credibility of the run-off, including replacing top election official and suspending three ministers. However, Abdullah's conditions were refused by Karzai.
The first-round election was held on August 20, with preliminary results by Afghan election authority showing Karzai won 54.6 percent. However, a UN investigation on fraud pushed Karzai's total to below the 50 percent, which is needed to avoid a run-off.
US President Barack Obama is weighing his strategy on Afghanistan and considering whether to send tens of thousands additional troops to the war-torn country while Taliban has vowed to disrupt the run-off election.