“What’s the solution? Another commissioner from the same commission should take his position,” said Abdullah who also insisted that IEC officials are Karzai loyalists and some should be removed from the panel.

The demand was dismissed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai saying that the chief did nothing wrong and the allegation may jeopardise the voting process.

“The changes would not be helpful to the elections and the country,” Karzai commented. Karzai also defended the IEC saying that they “have just done their legal duties”. Neither IEC nor Lodin have released a statement in response to the argument.

The dispute between the two Afghan leaders came after U.S. President Barack held a meeting to work on the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. Obama emphasised that the decision for deployment of U.S. troops should not be rushed, but the U.S. will “never hesitate” to use necessary force.

In August, election results showed that Karzai received 55% of the vote, while his opponent Abdullah garnered 28%. But an investigation made by the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) led to the removal of thousands of votes, which were believed to be fraudulent. The incident triggered a runoff, which Karzai eventually approved after being urged by the international community. Since then, polling stations and suspected officials involved in the fraud have been removed according to UN officials.

Talks of a power-sharing deal between Karzai and Abdullah to eliminate the runoff have posed a threat, but the Afghan president emphasised that the deal will not take place.

Karzai, who emphasised that his country’s interest is more important than his own, has confirmed that he will participate in the runoff, which will be held in two weeks.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton encouraged the Afghan leader to approve the runoff, senior State Department officials said. She was noted telling Karzai to “be a statesman”. Clinton, with her experience as a former politician and a diplomat, also told Karzai that she understood the president’s concerns, which involve the reaction of his Pashtun supporters after 1.3 million ballots, believed to be fraudulent, were removed by the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission.

Clinton was quoted telling him, “You can emerge stronger from this and cement your position as leader.” Clinton believes that the runoff may be an advantage to Karzai. “By doing this you are likely to be stronger,” Clinton was quoted telling the Afghan president.

Phone discussions between Clinton and the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, and U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke also took place. Kerry, who was in Afghanistan over the weekend, was reported to have conducted discussions with the Afghan president in “absolutely close coordination” with Clinton, a senior official said. Holbrooke was also reported to have discussed “a strategy of how to get to a second round of voting” with Kerry before his trip to Afghanistan. Kerry also held a meeting with Abdullah to urge both Abdullah and President Karzai to work together, according to an official.

The Independent Election Commission has set 7 November as the runoff date.

Image: World Economic Forum

Results of a “final but preliminary” count from the recent presidential election in Afghanistan shows the incumbent president’s triumph over his toughest opponent.

Afghanistan’s government-assigned Independent Election Commission has already released the complete yet uncertified results of the election which indicate the victory of President Hamid Karzai over former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

The final preliminary results attribute 54% of the ballots for the incumbent and less than 28% for the former foreign minister.

Chief Electoral Officer Daoud Ali Najafi announced the vote counts to the press.

He said, “Abdullah Abdullah has received 1,571,581 votes. Hamid Karzai has received 3,093,256 votes”.

The campaign supporters of Abdullah complained that the incumbent’s followers had manipulated the election, an accusation that has garnered attention from neutral parties.

The Election Complaints Commission has urged a recount in about ten percent of the voting stations across the country. The ECC, which is dominated by UN appointees, released the order to the Election Commission after it had received serious fraud allegations such as stuffing of ballot boxes.

Election observers from the European Union doubt the validity of around one-third of the total ballots, which is about 1.5 million. They informed the Kabul press that these disputed ballots contain 300,000 ballots that voted for Abdullah and 1.1 million for Karzai.

But supporters of Karzai regard the comments of the EU observers as “irresponsible”. They are hoping that even after the disputed ballots are discarded, their leader will still get over 50% of the total votes.

Meanwhile, EU observer and team leader Phillippe Morillon advises Karzai’s camp to defer their announcement of victory.