Democracy News

Afghanistan Presidential Run-Off Scheduled for November
October 20, 2009
By Randi Zung | Printer Friendly

On October 20, 2009, it was announced that Afghanistan will hold a second round run-off election to determine the Afghan presidency.  The vote, between Abdullah Abdullah and incumbent Hamid Karzai, will take place on November 7.  The announcement of the run-off election came a day after Afghanistan's Electoral Complaints Commission called for the rejection of thousands of invalid ballots from the original August 20 election.  The August 20 election was plagued by accusations of ballot stuffing by Karzai supporters.

BBC News reports the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) ruled that none of the candidates had secured more than 50 percent of the vote in order to win the August 20 election.  Initial figures reported that Karzai had claimed 54.6 percent of the vote, however after the ECC’s investigation, Karzai’s figure dropped to 48.3 percent. Abdullah’s count increased from 27.7 percent to 31.5 percent.  Karzai, who had vehemently denied accusations of election fraud since August, announced that he accepted the ECC’s results.  During a news conference in Kabul, Karzai stated that the decision was a positive and necessary development to ensure stability in Afghanistan: “Whether I am the winner or not, it's probably in my interest, but I prefer the national interest of Afghanistan over my personal interests.”  In addition, Karzai called for continued international assistance during the run-off election.

According to the New York Times, Karzai finally conceded to the ECC’s findings because of increasing international pressure but has commented that a second election will not quell the country’s political crisis.  Karzai stated that voters will have difficultly accessing voting stations due to harsh winter conditions and growing threats of Taliban insurgency.  CNN reports that the news of Karzai’s acceptance of the ECC’s findings is an important factor for the United States in trying to determine if it should increase its military presence in Afghanistan.  According to BBC News, the Obama administration stated that the decision to deploy 40,000 additional troops to the region would not be decided until after Karzai conceded to the ECC ruling.  The New York Time reports that President Obama called Karzai’s acceptance “an important step forward.”

Sources:
Afghan election goes to run-off
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8316487.stm

Karzai accepts Afghanistan election runoff
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/20/afghanistan.election.fraud/index.html

Karzai Agrees to Run-Off Election in Afghanistan
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/world/asia/21afghan.html?ref=world