WASHINGTON (PAN): Opposing any efforts to force a run-off against the will of the people, Hamid Karzai Tuesday said a second round of the Afghan presidential elections was unacceptable.
If there is a political desire to take the election to the second round, of course that's not acceptable, Karzai told the CNN international in an interview.
If there is fraud committed by any side that will be a very serious issue, and I'd very much want that investigated, he said in response to a question.
Karzai said he will accept a second round only if there is a legal reason. If it is in the consequence of the vote of the Afghan people, if the vote of the Afghan people has no clear winner, then, of course, that's the will of the Afghan people, and the Afghan law says go to the second round, he argued
The President said he supports a large part of the report of General Stanley McChrystal, which was submitted to the Pentagon on August 30.
One of the most important was, rather than concentrating on killing and eliminating terrorists and the Taliban, the report talks of protecting the Afghan people, the communities and civilians. This part has my full support and also, surely, the support of the Afghan people, he said.
Where General McChrystal is asking for more resources, in all aspects, to boost the effort against terrorism, he has our support there too. So the overall report, as far as
Responding to the criticism about corruption in his government, Karzai said he will not take responsibility as the Afghan president or the Afghan people for the corruption in the distribution of international assistance by faulty contractual mechanisms, by awarding contracts from one to the second to the third to the fourth, by wastage of resources along the way.
That's a problem that the international community has to fix. We will fix our problems, and our partners should correct their own problems, he said.
Afghan government is credible and legitimate. It's a government that lacks resources. It's a government that lacks capacity. It's it has to be built up further with the right kind of resources that we are lacking, especially in the sector of police, on which we were busy right from 2004 onwards with our partners in the international community to strengthen and to train, which didn't happen, he said.
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