Abdullah’s decision will leave Karzai as the only candidate. It will also lead Karzai to win by default in the second round of elections on 7 November.

Abdullah said that he would no longer be participating in the second round of elections, which follows the controversial 20 August elections. The teary-eyed doctor made his announcement in a huge tent filled with his supporters.

Abdullah also doubted the impartiality of the elections saying “it will not be free and fair.”

He added that the Independent Election Commission (IEC) is on Karzai’s side and the incumbent President is “misusing” the resources of the government.

Karzai led in the first round of elections in August. However, in October, millions of votes for him were disqualified by a United Nations-led supervisory body.

Despite having only one candidate, the IEC is still eyeing to conduct the second round of elections.

Abdullah may still win the run-off with the possible intervention of the international community.

Haroun Mir, director of the Afghan Center for Research and Policy Studies, based in Kabul, explained that Karzai’s legitimacy may be hurt if there would be a very low turnout.

The campaign team of Karzai said that the run-off would carry on in spite of the withdrawal of Abdullah.

The election date was set on Tuesday by New York Governor David Paterson so it will happen simultaneously with the regularly scheduled elections of the state.

In the middle of McHugh’s ninth term as the 23rd district’s representative, he vacated his position last September 21. He stepped down from office last week, after being appointed as secretary of the Army.

Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, Bill Owens of the Democrats, and the Republican’s Dede Scozzafava are vying to replace McHugh.

Since the resignation of McHugh, the campaign has heated up. The parties and the candidates began to spend large amounts of money on initial ad buys. Also, local as well as national interest groups are rallying around their favoured candidates.

The Scozzafava’s campaign on Tuesday announced support from local women lawmakers: Assemblywomen Janet Duprey and Teresa Sayward, and Senator Betty Little.

A day after acquiring support of anti-tax group Club for Growth, Hoffman earned the support of the political action committee of the American Conservative Union.

Last week, Owens received the support of a huge organised labour support from the local union, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. The said union helped swing a March special election in the neighbouring 20th District for Scott Murphy, a Democrat.

Among the three candidates, Scozzafava seems to have the highest visibility due to her decade-long in tenure representing the western half of the district. Also, she may benefit because registered Democrat voters are outnumbered by their Republican counterparts in the 23rd District.

Yesterday, the U.S. State Department’s spokesman, Philip J. Crowley, said that due the ongoing turmoil the U.S. will not consider the election valid. The Obama administration told the “de facto regime that because of the environment on the ground, we will not recognize the election,” Crowley noted.

Oscar Arias, the President of Costa Rica, proposed a settlement which was supported by the US. His plan was to schedule early elections, create a united government, and restore Zelaya to power.

Roberto Micheletti, the interim President of the de facto regime, rejected such proposal. He claimed Zelaya seeks to amend the Constitution to extend his term in office.

On 27 September, Micheletti suspended other civil rights and banned protests for 45 days. He also refused entry to an Organization of American States (OAS) delegation which aimed to discuss an end to the 3-month standoff in Honduras.

“We are very concerned by the de facto regime’s suspension of fundamental civil liberties,” said Charles Luoma-Overstreet, the State Department’s spokesman for Western Hemisphere Affairs.

“We call on the de facto regime to lift the decree and take the necessary steps to initiate a meaningful negotiation with President Zelaya. At the same time, we strongly urge President Zelaya and his supporters to direct their statements in a constructive and positive manner,” Luoma-Overstreet added.

Last week, Zelaya and Micheletti separately met with the four leading presidential candidates of the nation. Such meeting was considered as a step to direct talks.

The interim government also informed a group of foreign ministers from the region who visited the country that it wasn’t worried about the international sanctions imposed after the former president was ousted.

On the 28th of June, Manuel Zelaya, the left-wing president, was forced out of office.

The ministers were not able to convince the Honduran government to give in to a mediated arrangement that would return Zelaya to power.

Zelaya was removed because of a power struggle that was caused by the constitutional changes that he proposed. According to Zelaya’s critics, the purpose was to remove the one-term limit for the president, which would have made his re-election possible.

The visiting delegation from the Organisation of American States attempted to convince the interim government of Honduras to permit Zelaya to return to power and to finish his term. The delegation was composed of ministers from the Dominican Republic, Panama, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Canada and Argentina.

However, the interim government of Honduras, which accuses Zelaya of treason, said that that was impossible. Roberto Micheletti, president of the interim government, said that only an armed intervention could change the course of his government.

“We are not afraid of an embargo by anybody,” he said. The country can carry on firmly and calmly without your support and that of other nations. Nobody is coming here to impose anything on us, unless troops come from somewhere else and force us.”