Kabul: Afghanistan`s run-off election will take place as scheduled this week despite the withdrawal of President Hamid Karzai`s only challenger, the election commission said on Sunday.
"The deadline to withdraw has passed, therefore the
commission is determined to conduct a run-off election," the
government-appointed Independent Election Commission`s chief
electoral officer, Daoud Ali Najafi, told a news agency.
"We`ll go for a run-off as scheduled," Najafi added.
Former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah said he
would not participate in the November 7 vote, but when asked,
Najafi said the commission would still be counting his votes.
"Yes, just as we did in the first round when
candidates pulled out after the timetable given for them to
announce their withdrawal. Their votes were counted," he said.
Abdullah has been fiercely critical of the IEC, which
is seen as pro-Karzai, citing the president`s refusal to sack
the commission`s chairman Azizullah Ludin as one of the
reasons for his withdrawal.
The first round of the election on August 20 was
tainted by widespread fraud which eventually saw around a
quarter of all votes declared invalid after a probe by a
UN-backed watchdog.
Bureau Report
