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Afghan election goes to run-off |
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Written by Egypt News
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Tuesday, 20 October 2009 |
BBC News
Afghanistan will hold a deciding round of its problem-plagued presidential election on 7 November, officials say.
The run-off will take place between President Hamid Karzai and his main rival Abdullah Abdullah.
The news comes a day after a UN-backed panel said it had clear evidence of fraud in August's first round, lowering Mr Karzai's vote share below 50%.
Mr Karzai told a news conference that he accepted the findings, adding they were a "step forward" for democracy.
Initial results suggested Mr Karzai, the incumbent, had received 55% of the vote, and ex-Foreign Minister Mr Abdullah 28%.
But the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), ordered that ballots from 210 polling stations be discounted.
This meant Mr Karzai's total was reduced to below the threshold for outright victory, indicating a second round was needed.
Since the disputed first round of polling, there has been intensive Western lobbying of Afghanistan's leaders to resolve the weeks of political paralysis.
The White House - debating a request for 40,000 more US troops to be sent to Afghanistan - warned at the weekend no more soldiers would be deployed until a political resolution was reached.
Mr Karzai gave his reaction to news of the run-off, speaking at a news conference alongside UN envoy Kai Eide and US Senator John Kerry.
"This is not the right time to discuss investigations, this is the time to move forward to stability and national unity," Mr Karzai said.
"I call upon our nation to change this into an opportunity to strengthen our resolve and determination, to move our country forward and to participate in the new round of elections."
The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says there will be concerns about logistics, getting ballots out into the provinces and also the security situation.
There will also be absolutely no guarantee that any new vote will be free of the fraud that dogged the first round, our correspondent says.
But for now the political deadlock appears to have been broken for a couple of weeks at least.
US President Barack Obama welcomed Mr Karzai's statement, describing it as an important and constructive step forward.
"It is now vital that all elements of Afghan society continue to come together to advance democracy, peace and justice," he added.
Sen Kerry said a second round of voting was a great opportunity and a turning point, praising Mr Karzai for the "genuine leadership in the decision he has made".
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown also welcomed President Hamid Karzai's "statesmanlike" acceptance of the run-off.
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