Afghan election run-off between Abdullah and Ghani: results

KABUL: Afghanistan´s presidential election is set for a second-round vote, preliminary results showed Saturday, as opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah and former academic Ashraf Ghani both failed to secure a decisive victory.

"Based on our results, it appears that the election goes to the second round," Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani, head of the Independent Election Commission, told a press conference in Kabul.

Abdullah, a former foreign minister, secured 44.9 percent of the vote, with his main rival Ghani on 31.5 percent, according to the preliminary results.

The final official result is set to be announced on May 14 after a period for adjudication of hundreds of complaints over alleged fraud.

As no candidate gained more than 50 percent, a run-off between the two leading names is required under the Afghan constitution.

Nuristani, who announced that the second round would be held on June 7, said nearly seven million people voted in the April 5 election out of an estimated electorate of 13.5 million -- well above the 2009 turnout.Of those who voted, 36 percent were female -- a figure likely to be seen an impressive sign of women´s improving status in Afghanistan, a deeply conservative Muslim country.

The eventual winner will have to oversee the fight against a resilient Taliban insurgency as 51,000 US-led NATO combat troops leave Afghanistan this year, as well as strengthen an economy that relies on declining aid money.

- Disputes over fraud claims? -
Another expensive and potentially violent election could be avoided by negotiations between the candidates in the coming weeks, but Abdullah has dismissed talks of a possible power-sharing deal.

Ghani, a former World Bank economist, has also vowed to fight on in a run-off.Serious fraud allegations are being investigated in the vote to choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai, who has ruled Afghanistan since the Islamist Taliban regime was ousted in 2001.

The 2009 election, when Karzai retained power, was marred by fraud in a chaotic process that shook confidence in the multinational effort to develop Afghanistan and also marked a sharp decline in relations with the United States.

Votes involved in alleged ballot-box stuffing and other cheating have not been counted, and Saturday’s announcement is expected to be followed by fierce debate over disputed voting papers.

Preliminary results were delayed by two days due to fraud investigations, with officials vowing to sift out all suspect votes before they were counted.

Five NATO soldiers died on Saturday in a helicopter crash in the south of the country, officials said, adding that the cause of the incident was being investigated.

Karzai, who is constitutionally barred from serving a third term, has pledged to stay neutral in the election.

But he was widely thought to have backed former foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul, who took just 11 percent of the vote.

Rassoul could still play a key role in power-brokering before the next president is chosen, as could former Islamist warlord Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, who collected a seven percent.

All leading candidates have pledged to explore peace talks with the Taliban and sign a deal with the US that could allow 10,000 US troops to stay on after this year on a training and counter-terrorism mission.

Karzai´s surprise decision to refuse to sign the bilateral security agreement last year after agreeing to the draft text plunged relations between Afghanistan and its biggest donor to a new low.

The outgoing president has had several public disagreements with Washington in recent years, underlining efforts to establish his reputation as an independent, nationalist leader despite relying on US aid and military power during his reign.

Afghan presidential election partial results expected today

KABUL: A frontrunner to succeed Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said his one time rival should continue to serve a role in politics and that he wouldn´t pursue "vengeance" against the man he claims stole the last election.

A former ophthalmologist and resistance fighter against invading Soviet forces in the 1980s, Abdullah Abdullah served as Karzai´s foreign minister from late 2001 to 2005.

Following the 2009 poll, which was widely discredited as massively fraudulent by the international community, Abdullah accused Karzai of "stealing" the vote. Abdullah along with former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani are seen as the two leading candidates in the race to succeed Karzai, with more than seven million people defying bad weather and Taliban threats to vote last week.

Observers have long suspected Karzai of coveting a key role in the country´s politics after leaving the presidency. These suspicions have been fuelled, in part, by the construction of a lavish new house for him near the presidential palace and the nomination of his brother Qayyum as a candidate.

Though Qayyum dropped out of the race, and his next anointed successor, Zalmai Rasoul, is believed to have fallen into third place behind the two leaders, Karzai is still seen as important to Abdullah´s effort to secure the president´s southern Pashtun base, the largest ethnic group.
Abdullah, who was born to an ethnic Pashtun father and a Tajik mother, is more associated with the northern Tajiks.

Speaking to AFP in his Kabul home, Abdullah hinted Karzai would remain at the heart of the country´s affairs. "The president of Afghanistan will have a role in the future. I´m not talking about an administrative role, I´m talking about a role in the politics of the country, a role at the national level, and he has served the country for the past 13 years. "So that is something that is natural. What shape that role will take will depend on his decision", he said.

Asked whether he would be inclined to seek prosecution of Karzai or his brothers, who have been dogged by major corruption allegations for years, he added: "I would not go through that line that will be politics of vengeance and revenge and retribution. Our priority of the future government will be to deal with the priorities of the nation."

The first partial results are expected later Sunday, with both camps expressing optimism of winning outright without the need for a second round, triggered if no candidate gains more 50 percent of the estimated seven million votes cast. A potential solution to accommodate Abdullah´s "Pashtun problem" could be found in a switchover to a parliamentary-democracy he says he wants to create by changing the country´s constitution. "It will give the chance for better accountability, it will be good for the people´s participation -- so that has been part of our agenda including bigger room, better room for the political parties," he said. Such a setup would expand the powers of Afghanistan´s parliament, creating new roles to accommodate potential allies.

Dressed in a smart grey suit Abdullah appeared confident that the prize that eluded him in 2009 was within his grasp on this occasion, adding that he isn´t overly concerned so far about reports of fraud. "We´re watching it, we´re monitoring it. There is a system and hopefully everybody tries to make the system work," he said.

Many critics have questioned whether Abdullah, who fought the Taliban when they were in power from 1996-2001, can accomplish his stated ambition of negotiating a settlement with the militants. Responding to the doubts, he said: "I would say that the election has taken place already, that in itself was a rejection of the Talibanisation of the country and a rejection of violence. "I hope that everyone has drawn the right lesson from the elections and they hopefully boost the legitimacy of the Afghan administration, and then the Afghan administration will be taken seriously by friends and foes alike."

And he remained insistent that, unlike Karzai, who has been accused of backsliding on human rights issues, he would make no such concessions to hardliners, particularly with regard to women´s rights. "Compromising fundamental values is out of the question. These are values for which are people have made sacrifices for and these are achievements of the people of Afghanistan. "Making sacrifices is one thing but to sacrifice the rights of the people under any illusion of achieving peace will not achieve any peace.

Afghan presidential election partial results expected today

KABUL: A frontrunner to succeed Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said his one time rival should continue to serve a role in politics and that he wouldn´t pursue "vengeance" against the man he claims stole the last election.

A former ophthalmologist and resistance fighter against invading Soviet forces in the 1980s, Abdullah Abdullah served as Karzai´s foreign minister from late 2001 to 2005.

Following the 2009 poll, which was widely discredited as massively fraudulent by the international community, Abdullah accused Karzai of "stealing" the vote. Abdullah along with former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani are seen as the two leading candidates in the race to succeed Karzai, with more than seven million people defying bad weather and Taliban threats to vote last week.

Observers have long suspected Karzai of coveting a key role in the country´s politics after leaving the presidency. These suspicions have been fuelled, in part, by the construction of a lavish new house for him near the presidential palace and the nomination of his brother Qayyum as a candidate.

Though Qayyum dropped out of the race, and his next anointed successor, Zalmai Rasoul, is believed to have fallen into third place behind the two leaders, Karzai is still seen as important to Abdullah´s effort to secure the president´s southern Pashtun base, the largest ethnic group.
Abdullah, who was born to an ethnic Pashtun father and a Tajik mother, is more associated with the northern Tajiks.

Speaking to AFP in his Kabul home, Abdullah hinted Karzai would remain at the heart of the country´s affairs. "The president of Afghanistan will have a role in the future. I´m not talking about an administrative role, I´m talking about a role in the politics of the country, a role at the national level, and he has served the country for the past 13 years. "So that is something that is natural. What shape that role will take will depend on his decision", he said.

Asked whether he would be inclined to seek prosecution of Karzai or his brothers, who have been dogged by major corruption allegations for years, he added: "I would not go through that line that will be politics of vengeance and revenge and retribution. Our priority of the future government will be to deal with the priorities of the nation."

The first partial results are expected later Sunday, with both camps expressing optimism of winning outright without the need for a second round, triggered if no candidate gains more 50 percent of the estimated seven million votes cast. A potential solution to accommodate Abdullah´s "Pashtun problem" could be found in a switchover to a parliamentary-democracy he says he wants to create by changing the country´s constitution. "It will give the chance for better accountability, it will be good for the people´s participation -- so that has been part of our agenda including bigger room, better room for the political parties," he said. Such a setup would expand the powers of Afghanistan´s parliament, creating new roles to accommodate potential allies.

Dressed in a smart grey suit Abdullah appeared confident that the prize that eluded him in 2009 was within his grasp on this occasion, adding that he isn´t overly concerned so far about reports of fraud. "We´re watching it, we´re monitoring it. There is a system and hopefully everybody tries to make the system work," he said.

Many critics have questioned whether Abdullah, who fought the Taliban when they were in power from 1996-2001, can accomplish his stated ambition of negotiating a settlement with the militants. Responding to the doubts, he said: "I would say that the election has taken place already, that in itself was a rejection of the Talibanisation of the country and a rejection of violence. "I hope that everyone has drawn the right lesson from the elections and they hopefully boost the legitimacy of the Afghan administration, and then the Afghan administration will be taken seriously by friends and foes alike."

And he remained insistent that, unlike Karzai, who has been accused of backsliding on human rights issues, he would make no such concessions to hardliners, particularly with regard to women´s rights. "Compromising fundamental values is out of the question. These are values for which are people have made sacrifices for and these are achievements of the people of Afghanistan. "Making sacrifices is one thing but to sacrifice the rights of the people under any illusion of achieving peace will not achieve any peace.