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
Based on the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) decisions, the Afghan poll panel had scheduled a runoff for the 7th of the next month, added Karzai, who welcomed the Independent Election Commission (IEC) announcement as "consistent with the Afghan Constitution and national interest."
Regretting that the historic first round of Aug 20 had been disputed and Afghans' mandate defamed, he profusely praised the spirit of the masses in flocking to polling stations in defiance of threats of suicide bombings and rocket assaults and demonstrating national unity in the process.
Hailing the ruling of the IEC, appointed by his administration, the president said: "We believe this decision is legitimate, legal and constitutional and that it strengthens the march toward democracy in
"I hope the international community and the Afghan government and all others concerned will take every possible measure to provide security to the people so that when they vote, the vote is not called a fraud," observed Karzai, apparently unhappy with the ECC findings.
In response to a query, he once again ruled out the establishment of a coalition government. Since no candidate had won an outright majority, he argued, such a set-up would lack legitimacy. He opined it was for the people to choose their leader in the next round.
All praise for the president's statesmanship and political acumen, Senator Kerry also said there had been no discussion on a coalition government during his meetings with Karzai and Dr. Abdullah. However, he explained, the two antagonists had agreed to hold talks on determining the country's future after the end to election stalemate.
Asked about guarantees that the runoff would not be rigged, the visiting senator replied he and Kabul-based diplomats from several countries had held long discussions with IEC and ECC representatives to learn lessons from the troubled August 20 ballot and ensure the round was a success.
"It's going to be a historic period that we all are waiting to go through. We believe with this decision by the president today a time of enormous uncertainty has been transformed into great opportunity," noted the powerful American legislator.
Kerry, who has repeatedly opposed a surge in
Speaking on behalf of Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and US Special Representative Richard Holbrooke, he reiterated
The agreement on a second round had transformed the crisis into a "moment of great opportunity," he thought, acclaiming the president's openness to finding ways of resolving differences. "The international community is 100 percent committed to helping to carry out this election."
In his brief remarks on the occasion, Eide spotlighted the role of UN agencies in assisting
Before the question-answer session, Karzai took pride in bagging votes in all parts of the country, particularly in the Tajik-dominated north. He thanked voters for reposing confidence in him. He also greeted his closest challenger Dr. Abdullah for winning ballots in
Karzai called upon Afghans to come out in droves and elect their leader in the two-horse contest, slated for next month, to make it decisive. The president hoped for a higher turnout in the runoff, expecting 10 million Afghans would exercise their franchise on Nov 7, as against the six million who voted on August 20.
As many as 1.3 million votes were voided as a result of the ECC investigation into allegations of irregularities, he pointed out, promising they would probe the disrespect shown to voters. But right now, he explained, the time was not ripe for such a step because they had agreed to move towards solidarity and unity.
"I'm grateful to the global fraternity for assisting
He was optimistic the next president would set store by nurturing robust relations with the
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