GSBot

Hamid Karzai has been declared the elected president of Afghanistan by poll officials, after they scrapped the planned second round of the vote.The Independent Election Commission announcement comes a day after Mr Karzai's sole challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out of the race.

Dr Abdullah, who had demanded key poll officials quit, said he did not think it would be a free and fair vote.

The first round of the vote, in August, was marred by mass electoral fraud.

"We declare Hamid Karzai, which [sic] got the majority of votes in the first round and [since] he is the only candidate for the second round... be declared as elected president of Afghanistan," said a spokesman for the Independent Election Commission in Monday's news conference.

He said the second round on 7 November was being scrapped to save money, and to prevent further setbacks which could damage Afghanistan politically and economically.

President Karzai had been the favourite to win the run-off after gaining more votes in the first round on 20 August.

One of the reasons for holding a deciding vote had been to try to restore some legitimacy to the election after the discredited first round.

Earlier on Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Kabul and said Afghanistan's troubled election had been among "the most difficult the United Nations has ever supported".

The BBC's Lyse Doucet in Kabul says there has been intense discussion in recent days as to whether scrapping the second round would be constitutionally legal.


Some observers are saying Mr Karzai's legitimacy is also in question and asking whether his government can be effective, adds our correspondent.

hanibal

Karzai is Back, Abdullah Abdullah was not popular.. end of the day, both Karzai and Abdullah depends on US-NATO forces to keep their positiions