CAIRO – Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah is threatening to boycott next week’s runoff elections unless incumbent Hamid Karzai bows to a series of demands to prevent poll fraud. “He wants to make a deal as he doesn’t think the second round will be any cleaner than the first,” one source close to Abdullah told The Times Saturday, October 31.
“But if Mr Karzai does not agree, then a boycott is quite possible.”
Abdullah, a former foreign minister, demands Karzai to sack the head of the Independent Electoral Commission over the fraudulent August 20 elections.
He also wants the West-backed president to suspend four ministers who campaigned for him during the ballot.
"If by the end of today we do not receive a positive response to our conditions from the government, then Dr. Abdullah himself will announce his reaction to it tomorrow," spokesman Sayed Aqa Fazel Sancharaki told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Another senior campaign aide said if Abdullah's conditions were not met, "we will not participate in an election which is not transparent and fraud-free."
Abdullah is due to make his announcement at an address in Kabul at 9:30 am (0500 GMT) on Sunday, which the media have been invited to attend.
He cancelled a planned visit to India on Saturday, fuelling speculations about his decision to pull out from the race.
"He is staying because of the election," Abdullah's spokesman Ali Farhad Howaida said.
Afghan voters will go to polling stations on November 7, to elect a new president from between Karzai and Abdullah.
The runoff was decided after the first round two months ago was marred by widespread fraud.
Compromise
Abdullah’s withdrawal from the run-off would have a serious impact on the new government’s legitimacy.
"If Abdullah boycotts, voter turnout will be very low and Karzai will be declared winner but with a very low legitimacy," said Haroun Mir, a Kabul-based analyst and director of Afghanistan's Centre for Research and Policy Studies.
Under the Afghan Constitution, the run-off could go ahead with Karzai as the only candidate.
“The stakes are very high, not just for the two candidates but for the international community as well,” said Mir.
“Everyone wants these two men to reach a compromise.”
A source close to Karzai’s camp said that the two rivals held talks to reach a compromise.
"There were talks on the possibility of power-sharing in some form,” said the source.
“There were huge demands from Abdullah's side for several ministries, eight ministerial positions, which were not accepted by Karzai."
The United States, which invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to topple the ruling Taliban, said Abdullah’s boycott of next week’s run-off would not de-legitimize the polls.
"We see that happen in our own country where, for whatever combination of reasons, one of the candidates decides not to go forward,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
“I don't think it has anything to do with the legitimacy of the election."
Source: IslamOnline
“But if Mr Karzai does not agree, then a boycott is quite possible.”
Abdullah, a former foreign minister, demands Karzai to sack the head of the Independent Electoral Commission over the fraudulent August 20 elections.
He also wants the West-backed president to suspend four ministers who campaigned for him during the ballot.
"If by the end of today we do not receive a positive response to our conditions from the government, then Dr. Abdullah himself will announce his reaction to it tomorrow," spokesman Sayed Aqa Fazel Sancharaki told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Another senior campaign aide said if Abdullah's conditions were not met, "we will not participate in an election which is not transparent and fraud-free."
Abdullah is due to make his announcement at an address in Kabul at 9:30 am (0500 GMT) on Sunday, which the media have been invited to attend.
He cancelled a planned visit to India on Saturday, fuelling speculations about his decision to pull out from the race.
"He is staying because of the election," Abdullah's spokesman Ali Farhad Howaida said.
Afghan voters will go to polling stations on November 7, to elect a new president from between Karzai and Abdullah.
The runoff was decided after the first round two months ago was marred by widespread fraud.
Compromise
Abdullah’s withdrawal from the run-off would have a serious impact on the new government’s legitimacy.
"If Abdullah boycotts, voter turnout will be very low and Karzai will be declared winner but with a very low legitimacy," said Haroun Mir, a Kabul-based analyst and director of Afghanistan's Centre for Research and Policy Studies.
Under the Afghan Constitution, the run-off could go ahead with Karzai as the only candidate.
“The stakes are very high, not just for the two candidates but for the international community as well,” said Mir.
“Everyone wants these two men to reach a compromise.”
A source close to Karzai’s camp said that the two rivals held talks to reach a compromise.
"There were talks on the possibility of power-sharing in some form,” said the source.
“There were huge demands from Abdullah's side for several ministries, eight ministerial positions, which were not accepted by Karzai."
The United States, which invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to topple the ruling Taliban, said Abdullah’s boycott of next week’s run-off would not de-legitimize the polls.
"We see that happen in our own country where, for whatever combination of reasons, one of the candidates decides not to go forward,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
“I don't think it has anything to do with the legitimacy of the election."
Source: IslamOnline
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