KABUL (PAN): In a widely-anticipated move, President Hamid Karzai Tuesday announced the fraud-tainted presidential elections had gone to the run-off stage. The second round of polls between him and runner-up Dr. Abdullah Abdullah will take place on November 7.

Flanked by US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator John Kerry, American Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, UNAMA chief Kai Eide as well as French and British envoys, Karzai made the announcement at a well-crowded news conference in Kabul after intense negotiations with major international players.

Based on the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) decisions, the Afghan poll panel had scheduled a runoff for the 7^th of the next month, added Karzai, who welcomed the IEC announcement as "consistent with the Afghan Constitution and national interest."  

PAN Monitor/mud