Post by concerned on Oct 21, 2009 4:44:43 GMT -5
KABUL (Oct. 20) — Facing Taliban threats and approaching winter snows, Afghan election officials must now scramble to organize a runoff presidential election on Nov. 7 after a grim President Hamid Karzai bowed to intense U.S. pressure and acknowledged Tuesday that he fell short of a majority.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it will be a "huge challenge" to pull off new balloting without repeating the widespread fraud that caused U.N.-backed investigators to strip Karzai of nearly a third of his votes from the Aug. 20 first-round election.
I guess the use of pshycological torture is acceptabe for the USA. Old habit are hard to break. I wonder what the White House promised President Karzi!!
"This is not the right time to discuss investigations," Karzai said, speaking exactly two months after the first election. "This is the time to move forward toward stability and national unity."
Karzai appeared before reporters moments after the government election commission accepted the findings of the auditors that the president fell short of a majority. The Karzai-influenced commission released preliminary results last month that showed the president winning with more than 54 percent out of a field of 36 candidates.
Agreement came at the end of a day of intensive talks between Karzai and Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He praised the Afghan leader for "genuine leadership in the decision he has made today." The two men met at least four times before the announcement.
An Afghan who is close to Karzai told The Associated Press that both Kerry and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had made clear that the United States and its international partners could not accept the results of an election that was so tainted by fraud. The Afghan spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it will be a "huge challenge" to pull off new balloting without repeating the widespread fraud that caused U.N.-backed investigators to strip Karzai of nearly a third of his votes from the Aug. 20 first-round election.
I guess the use of pshycological torture is acceptabe for the USA. Old habit are hard to break. I wonder what the White House promised President Karzi!!
"This is not the right time to discuss investigations," Karzai said, speaking exactly two months after the first election. "This is the time to move forward toward stability and national unity."
Karzai appeared before reporters moments after the government election commission accepted the findings of the auditors that the president fell short of a majority. The Karzai-influenced commission released preliminary results last month that showed the president winning with more than 54 percent out of a field of 36 candidates.
Agreement came at the end of a day of intensive talks between Karzai and Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He praised the Afghan leader for "genuine leadership in the decision he has made today." The two men met at least four times before the announcement.
An Afghan who is close to Karzai told The Associated Press that both Kerry and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had made clear that the United States and its international partners could not accept the results of an election that was so tainted by fraud. The Afghan spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.