Afghan election commission declares Karzai winner
Election officials declared Afghan President Hamid Karzai the winner of a new five-year term Monday, canceling a runoff election scheduled for Saturday just one day after Karzai’s sole challenger quit the race. The decision ended weeks of political drift since a first presidential poll in August was found invalid because of massive fraud.
In the capital, a sense of relief was instant and palpable. Kabul residents honked horns and exchanged celebratory text messages as the news spread. American, European and U.N. officials rushed to congratulate Karzai and pledged to work closely with his new administration.
Nevertheless, the decision to install Karzai without a clear electoral mandate raised questions about the legitimacy of his future administration. And despite calls for calm by his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, there were fears that opposition supporters might cause violent disturbances.
Aides to the president called a news conference Monday evening but then immediately canceled it, while Karzai was said to be conferring privately with advisers. Several hours later, security forces rushed to the Kabul airport amid reports that Abdurrashid Dostum, a former warlord and ally of Karzai, was flying back from exile in Turkey.
The terse announcement of Karzai’s victory was made by the chairman of the Afghan Independent Election Commission, Azizullah Lodin, whose removal had been demanded by Abdullah as one of several conditions for remaining in the race. After Karzai rejected the demands, Abdullah, a former foreign minister and eye doctor, withdrew Sunday, saying he did not believe the Nov. 7 runoff would be fair or transparent.
“We declare Mr. Hamid Karzai, who received a majority of votes in the first-round election and is the only candidate in the second round, as the elected president of Afghanistan,” Lodin said.
He said the seven-member panel had been “fully prepared” to hold the runoff but had reached a consensus that it should be canceled for a combination of reasons. He noted there was only one candidate, that the poll would be costly and dangerous to hold, and that it could have created “many challenges to the country’s security and stability.”
The chairman cited several provisions in the Afghan constitution in support of the panel’s decision, but he also compared the situation to a wrestling match. Peppered with questions about how the commission reached its conclusion, Lodin said, “If one wrestler refuses to wrestle, the referee raises the hand of the other and declares him the winner.”
Lodin brushed off questions about Abdullah’s complaints that he had been biased during the election process toward Karzai, who appointed him and the other commission members. “We have answered these questions a thousand times. There is no need to discuss it further,” he said through an interpreter.
Aides to Abdullah said the announcement come came as no surprise and was another indication of the panel’s favoritism toward Karzai. One aide said there might be an appeal to the Afghan Supreme Court to determine whether the election commission had the authority to cancel the runoff.
“I think people were fed up with this controversy over election,” said Homayoun Shah Assefy, one of Abdullah’s running mates. “I think it’s a good thing that this is finished. Whether it’s legal or not, we can stop discussing this matter. Now he’s elected.”
Despite lingering questions over the commission’s impartiality, foreign officials welcomed the announcement and said it appeared to have a constitutional basis. U.S. officials here said that even if the decision were legally challenged, the Afghan high court would probably uphold it within a short time.
Afghan election commission declares Karzai winner
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