Karzai rival Abdullah withdraws from Afghan run-off
02 November, 2009
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| Karzai rival Abdullah withdraws from Afghan run-off |
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KABUL: Afghan presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah quit an election run-off on Sunday after accusing the government of not meeting his demand for a fair vote, leaving doubts over the legitimacy of the next government.
A weakened Afghan government under President Hamid Karzai would also be a blow for US President Barack Obama as he decides whether to send up to 40,000 more US troops to fight a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.
Karzai’s spokesman also ruled out a coalition with Abdullah, dashing hopes that it might have been a way out of the impasse. Election officials said the Nov 7 vote would go ahead with both names on the ballot but with Karzai the only candidate.
“Based on election laws and based on the constitution, there should be a second round. The constitution is clear,” Daoud Ali Najafi, chief electoral officer of the government-appointed Independent Election Commission (IEC), told Reuters.
The UN wants a “legal and timely” conclusion to Afghanistan’s presidential poll after opposition challenger Abdullah Abdullah quit the contest, the head of its Afghan mission said on Sunday.
“Dr Abdullah has decided today not to participate in the second round of Afghanistan’s presidential election. This is clearly a decision he has taken after a long period of discussion and reflection,” Kai Eide said. “The next step must be to bring this electoral process to a conclusion in a legal and timely manner,” Eide added in a statement.
Abdullah, an eye doctor and Karzai’s urbane former foreign minister, appeared to rule out any immediate chance of a power-sharing deal with Karzai in return for withdrawing, but also told his supporters not to boycott the run-off. His voice faltering and his eyes welling with tears, Abdullah told hundreds of his supporters, including white-bearded tribal elders, in a giant tent used for grand assemblies that he had reached the decision “in the interests of the nation”.
“The decision which I am going to announce was not an easy one. It was a decision that I have taken after wide-ranging consultations, with the people of Afghanistan, my supporters and influential leaders,” Abdullah told supporters.
“In protest against the misconduct of the government and the Independent Election Commission (IEC), I will not participate in the election,” he added. “I have strong, strong reservations about the credibility of the process.”
Karzai’s campaign team said the run-off would go ahead. “Dr Abdullah’s decision has disappointed us,” Karzai said in a statement from the presidential palace which added his team would accept whatever ruling the IEC made.
Asked later if a power-sharing deal with Abdullah was possible, Karzai’s campaign spokesman Wahid Omar said: “If it means a coalition government, certainly not.” Afghanistan has been racked by weeks of political uncertainty, with security also a major concern after the Taliban vowed to disrupt the run-off.
The Taliban said Abdullah’s withdrawal made no difference. “There will be no change of policy as far as we are concerned,” Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.
Norine MacDonald, president of policy research group The International Council on Security and Development, said: “The election should be postponed and re-organised in a manner that would yield a legitimate government and allow the Afghan people to participate effectively in a legitimate election.”
A strong and legitimate Afghan government is central to the US strategy to quell rising Taliban violence. A spokesperson for the White House could not immediately be reached for comment on Abdullah’s decision, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said a decision by Abdullah to pull out would not affect the vote’s legitimacy.
“I recognise the decision by Dr Abdullah Abdullah not to participate in the second round of balloting in the Afghan presidential elections,” Clinton said. “It is now a matter for the Afghan authorities to decide on a way ahead that brings this electoral process to a conclusion in line with the Afghan constitution,” she said.
The United States will support the next Afghan president and recognises the decision by opposition challenger Abdullah Abdullah to withdraw from a run off, Hillary said on Sunday.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Abdullah’s decision was carefully considered and that he looked forward to working with an inclusive government. “I am confident that Afghanistan’s leaders will support the remaining steps of the democratic process,” Brown said in a statement. He said Abdullah Abdullah had pulled out of the presidential election run-off “in the interests of national unity”.
Abdullah said he quit because demands he had sought from the government and the IEC, including the sacking of Afghanistan’s top election official, had not been met.
He said there would be no demonstrations and urged his supporters “not to take to the streets, not to feel grief”. Western diplomats said that talks between Karzai and Abdullah last week on ways to break the deadlock had foundered, but Abdullah later left the door open for future discussions.
A possible power-sharing deal had also been suggested but Abdullah said no such arrangements had been made. “This decision has not been made in return for anything or for anybody,” Abdullah said.
Meanwhile, The New York Times said the status of the runoff vote itself remained an open question after Abdullah’s speech. Citing Afghan officials, Our Sourcespaper said it seemed likely that the vote would simply be canceled; the possibility of Taliban violence alone would appear to render pointless another Afghan election where the winner was known in advance.
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