Hamid Karzai refuses to accept being stripped of Afghanistan election win
Afghanistan was thrown into crisis on Monday after Hamid Karzai threatened to refuse to accept the results of a fraud inquiry which denied him victory in the presidential election.
By Ben Farmer in Kabul
Published: 7:20PM BST 19 Oct 2009
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2009/10/2289.jpg President Barack Obama's aides said it would be 'reckless' for him to commit more troops to Afghanistan until there is a 'true partner' to work with in Kabul, in veiled criticism of Hamid Karzai Photo: AP
A two-month investigation into allegations of widespread ballot-rigging by supporters took his share of the vote from 55 per cent to 48 per cent, officials said.
The findings of the Election Complaints Commission (EEC), which is backed by the United Nations, meant he fell below the 50 per cent that would have averted the need for a run-off with his closest rival, Abdullah Abdullah.
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The ECC found “clear and convincing evidence” of fraud in the election, held on Aug 20, and ordered officials in charge of the final tally to ignore results from 210 polling stations and thousands more found to be rigged in a statistical audit. Election observers from Democracy International said it took Mr Karzai’s vote to 48.3 per cent of the overall total.
It issued a statement saying: “This reduces his vote share below the 50 per cent threshold necessary for a first round victory, and should necessitate a run-off election between Hamid Karzai, and Abdullah Abdullah.”
A UN spokesman said Mr Karzai had said he would “fully respect the constitutional order”. But the president was said to be furious with the findings, while the Karzai-appointed election committee, which must certify the final results, also signalled that it would not accept them. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Mr Karzai would announce on Tuesday how he planned to proceed in the Afghan elections.
Officials said they needed 24 hours to calculate what effect the ruling had on the final results. Mohammad Moin Marastyal, a senior member of the president’s team said the procedure was “not correct”.
“Efforts have been made to lower Karzai’s vote to below 50 (per cent),” he said. “Now we are in a deadlock.”
Western governments hope Mr Karzai can be persuaded to accept that he did not win outright and then agree to a power-sharing deal with Dr Abdullah. In the past few days, diplomats have been putting him under intense pressure to accept the result and reach an agreement with his rival on how to move forward.
They are keen to avoid putting the country, and Nato troops, through a protracted and divisive second round.
One Western official said: “Karzai is not ready to accept it at the moment. He thinks he has won.”
Hundreds of Karzai supporters in southern Afghanistan, where he has greatest tribal support, have already protested on the streets at what they claimed was foreign interference in the result. The crisis threatens to cause a power vacuum as President Barack Obama decides whether to send 40,000 more American troops to fight a Taliban-led insurgency.
The White House said it was “incredibly important” for Afghanistan to get a legitimate government. “It is now up to the Afghans to demonstrate they believe in that legitimacy as well,” said Robert Gibbs, Mr Obama’s press secretary.
Senator John Kerry, an ally of Mr Obama who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, visited the Afghan capital on Monday to try to persuade Mr Karzai to accept the results of the inquiry. Mr Kerry, the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, held talks with Mr Karzai at the weekend and then flew to Islamabad, but he returned last night as the crisis grew.
Mr Kerry has warned Mr Karzai that the United States would not send more troops to prop up his regime until the deadlock was broken.
The ECC, which has been accused by Mr Karzai’s supporters of being run by interfering foreigners, said the ruling was “final and binding”.
Aleem Siddique, a spokesman for the UN in Afghanistan, said it expected the final result to be announced “swiftly”. A spokesman for the US embassy in Kabul added: “We call on the [election committee] to implement these orders with all due speed and look forward to the final certified results.”
