Afghan presidential candidate asks for more troops

Oct 25, 2009, 15:20 GMT

Washington - Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah called for a 'dramatic increase' in troops to secure his country from insurgents, in an interview with US broadcaster Fox News on Sunday.

Abdullah is expected to face off against incumbent President Hamid Karzai in an upcoming runoff election in two weeks after coming in second in an August election, which has been roundly criticized for election fraud.

'The need for more troops is there to reverse the situation,' he said.

US president Barack Obama is weighing a call by military officials to send 40,000 more troops against other requests from those who suggest a more surgical strategy aimed at top Al Qaeda leaders, particularly in Pakistan.

Abdullah said that, as long as Karzai is in power, war efforts will suffer from more difficulties.

'The Afghan side has not been ready to deliver, and the Afghan side has been led by Mr Karzai,' he said.

The candidate stated he is not willing to consent to a power- sharing agreement, which many observers say they would prefer if it meant Afghanistan could avoid the runoff vote.

Concerned about the possibility of fraud, he wants the leadership of the election comission replaced before the vote. Otherwise it would be difficult to convince people to go out and vote.

After the August election, widespread findings of fraud in favour of Karzai were discovered. Once the faulty votes were removed, his overall tally fell to less than 50 per cent of votes cast, forcing the runoff election.