Abdullah pulls out of Afghan presidential runoff vote (3rd Roundup)

By Farhad Peikar Nov 1, 2009, 14:48 GMT

Kabul (dpa ) - Afghan presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah on Sunday announced he would not participate in a planned runoff election, saying that political conditions could not guarantee a fair process.

The former foreign minister's decision to withdraw leaves President Hamid Karzai as the only candidate and brings him to the verge of remaining in office, but it also casts doubt over the legitimacy of his administration, particularly as regards his key ally the United States.

President Karzai said that it was Abdullah's right to withdraw from the elections.

'As an Afghan citizen and as a presidential candidate I hope that the election will be held so our people can choose their President,' Karzai told Azadi, a local language radio channel. 'Implementation of the constitution is a must. Therefore, we must hold the elections as required by the constitution.'

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) said that the runoff vote will go ahead without Abdullah, but the United Nations envoy in Afghanistan and US embassy in Kabul both hinted they would not support a one-man election.

An emotional announcement to a gathering of hundreds of his supporters on Sunday morning, Abdullah said: 'I re-emphasize that to object the inappropriate actions taken by the government and the inappropriate actions of the election commission, I will not take part in the November 7 election.'

'Today I made a tough decision,' he said, adding, 'I consider my decision as final and conclusive.'

The former top diplomat made the announcement after Karzai rejected his demands to dismiss the head of the electoral commission, and suspend three cabinet ministers, all of whom he accused of using their official positions to commit election fraud.

'I have not called for a boycott,' Abdullah told a press conference in his Kabul home, adding that his supporters had the choice to take part in the fresh vote. 'I would have taken part in the election even if some relative conditions were in place, but a transparent election is not possible.'

Asked if he would call on his supporters to take to streets to show their objection with election process, Abdullah said 'no demonstration. ... I am sure there will be no action taken by my supporters that will lead the country into further crisis.'

Abdullah did not question the legitimacy of Karzai's future government and said that he was open for talks on forming the new government that could involve his supporters taking part in the administration.

'I will be in this country. I don't shut any door, but at the same time I stick to those principles which I have started my campaign with, so I will pursue my agenda for reform and for change in this country at any circumstances,' he said.

Abdullah's decision just six days before the run-off has deepened the more than two months of political uncertainty in the country, which has already been severely plagued by a country-wide Taliban insurgency.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, travelling in Abu Dhabi, said in response to the reports that Abdullah might withdraw: 'We see that happen in our own country, where, for whatever combination of reasons, one of the candidates decides not to go forward,' she said.

'I don't think it has anything to do with the legitimacy of the election. It's a personal choice which may or may not be made.'

Neither Afghanistan's constitution nor its election laws anticipate the situation of a candidate pulling out of a runoff vote.

Western diplomats and analysts believe that with Karzai remaining as the only candidate, it would be up to country's Supreme Court to decide whether Karzai will be announced the winner or face Ramazan Bashardost, who finished third in the first round.

IEC spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor said that based on constitution the election has to go ahead as planned.

But the United Nations special envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide said 'The next step must be to bring this electoral process to a conclusion in a legal and timely manner.'

In a statement the US embassy in Kabul also said that 'as we wait for the Independent Election Commission to announce the next steps, the United States remains committed to supporting the Afghan people in carrying out a constitutional electoral process.'

Officials also believe that the Western countries, which have more than 100,000 forces in Afghanistan, will increase their pressure on Karzai to find a legal remedy to end the crisis. Under mounting pressures by Western leaders Karzai accepted to go for the runoff last month after he had claimed an outright victory in the August 20 election

On Sunday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called Karzai to reaffirm his support for the election process, presidential palace said in a statement, but did provide further details.

Karzai garnered more than 54 per cent of vote in August election, but an investigation conducted by a UN-backed body found massive vote fraud in the president's favour.

After about 1 million ballots were discounted, Karzai's vote count fell to less than 50 per cent plus one of the total needed to avoid a runoff with his nearest rival.

Afghanistan's tainted democratic mandate is now being regarded a setback to Western goals to defeat a growing military insurgency in the country. Support for Karzai's government and the war is waning in the US, which is the chief provider of funds, troops and military hardware.

US President Barack Obama has said he would not order extra troops until a legitimate government is formed in Kabul that could be a partner with the international community in its effort to fight terrorism in the Asian state.