US president Barack Obama has welcomed Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's acceptance of a run-off election on November 7th, saying it was an important step forward for democracy.
Mr Karzai will face a run-off vote against challenger Abdullah Abdullah after neither candidate received more than 50 per cent of votes in the August 20th first round, election officials said today.
"It will go to a second round on November 7th. The reason was Karzai's vote was 49.67 and could not reach above 50 per cent," said Noor Mohammad Noor, a spokesman for Afghanistan's government-appointed Independent Election Commission.
Mr Karzai said the decision by the Afghan election authorities to hold a second round runoff in November was legal and constitutional.
"We believe that this decision of the IEC is legitimate, legal and constitutional and that it strengthens the path towards domocracy," he said in remarks televised live on Afghan television.
Mr Obama said: "It is now vital that all elements of Afghan society continue to come together to advance democracy, peace and justice. We look forward to a second round of voting, and the completion of the process to choose the president of Afghanistan."
The heavily disputed vote had complicated Mr Obama's decision on whether to send thousands more US troops to Afghanistan to fight a resurgent Taliban. US officials have suggested that Mr Obama may not wait for the outcome of the run-off election before deciding whether to approve a request by his top military commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, for 40,000 or more reinforcements.
Mr Obama praised Mr Karzai's "constructive actions" saying they established an important precedent for Afghanistan's new democracy.
Relations between Mr Karzai and the Obama administration have been at a low point since the disputed election. Mr Karzai was angered by Washington's refusal to recognise him as the winner of the poll.
"The Afghan constitution and laws are strengthened by President Karzai's decision, which is in the best interests of the Afghan people," Mr Obama said in the statement.
UN secretary-seneral Ban Ki-moon today also commended Mr Karzai's decision of a but said organising a second poll would be a "huge challenge."
Speaking to reporters at UN headquarters, he said the world body would do everything possible to make the poll transparent and credible. "We will try to ensure that all Afghan people should be able to express their own will freely without intimidation or threat," he said. "We'll do our best ... to make these elections fair and free of fraudulence."
Mr Karzai had come under intense pressure from western leaders to agree with the findings of the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), which invalidated tens of thousands of votes for the incumbent.
Reuters