KABUL, Afghanistan | A grim President Hamid Karzai bowed to intense U.S. pressure and agreed Tuesday to a runoff election Nov. 7, acknowledging he fell short of a majority after U.N.-backed auditors stripped him of nearly a third of his votes.
With the fraud investigation completed, election officials must now scramble to organize a new ballot as the fierce Afghan winter approaches and the country faces a growing threat from Taliban insurgents.
President Obama said he called Mr. Karzai to laud his willingness to run in a new election against his main rival Abdullah Abdullah. “President Karzai’s constructive actions established an important precedent for Afghanistan’s new democracy,” said Mr. Obama, who also called Mr. Abdullah.
In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., Mr. Abdullah said the runoff would boost democracy in Afghanistan.
“It helped the democratic process to move forward rather than being stuck in one point,” he said.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon complimented Mr. Karzai’s decision but stressed that a new election will be a “huge challenge.”
“We have learned very valuable but painful lessons from the first election,” Mr. Ban told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York. “We must not repeat what they have done last time.”
Mr. Karzai spoke at a news conference after meeting at least four times with Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The Afghan leader did not express any regret over the widespread fraud, saying only that “this is not the right time to discuss investigations, this is the time to move forward toward stability and national unity.”
He acknowledged the final results showing the need for a runoff were “legitimate, legal and according to the constitution of Afghanistan.”
Mr. Kerry, who stood alongside Mr. Karzai and the head of the U.N. in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said the agreement on a second round had transformed the crisis into a “moment of great opportunity” and praised Mr. Karzai for “genuine leadership in the decision he has made today.”
Mr. Karzai and Mr. Kerry were in talks as late as Tuesday afternoon, suggesting that up until the last moment there was a chance the Afghan leader would return to insisting on a first-round victory.
One alternative to a runoff that diplomats say was being discussed was a power-sharing deal. Mr. Karzai ruled out a coalition government, telling reporters, “There is no space for a coalition government in the law.”
The possibility of a runoff emerged Monday after a U.N.-backed panel threw out nearly a million of Mr. Karzai’s votes from the Aug. 20 balloting - pushing his totals below 50 percent and setting the stage for a runoff against Mr. Abdullah, a former foreign minister.
There are serious worries that a runoff, which Mr. Karzai is widely expected to win, may not produce any better result.
Another election risks the same fraud that derailed the Aug. 20 vote, along with inciting violence and increasing ethnic divisions. If there are any delays, the vote also could be hampered by winter snow that blocks much of the north of the country starting mid-November.
Mr. Karzai emphasized the need for security.
“I hope that 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, that vote is not called a fraud,” he said.
Taliban threats reduced turnout in the first round and many say even fewer people will come out for a runoff.
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