Karzai declared Afghan President

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was returned to power after election officials cancelled a needless run-off yesterday, but was warned he would need to work harder to retain the West’s support after a flawed electoral process.

The government-appointed Ind­ep­endent Election Commission (IEC) called off the November 7 presidential run-off a day after Mr Karzai’s only rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew, sparking concerted efforts to have the vote cancelled.

The IEC, which had said on Sunday the vote would proceed, said it changed its mind to spare the Afghan people the expense and security risk of staging a run-off with only one candidate.

IEC chief Azizullah Ludin told a news conference the commission was also concerned a one-candidate race would raise concerns about the legitimacy of the presidency. The first round in August was marred by widespread fraud in favour of Mr Karzai.

“The Independent Election Commission declares the esteemed Hamid Karzai as the President... because he was the winner of the first round and the only candidate in the second round,” Mr Ludin said after weeks of political uncertainty.

Dr Abdullah withdrew on Sunday citing doubts about the fairness of the process, sparking a frantic round of diplomatic efforts to have the run-off cancelled. He said he was saddened by the challenges Afghanistan still faces.

“This is not what our people deserved,” Dr Abdullah said. “I’ll pursue my agenda for reform and change.”

But President Karzai still has plenty of support, especially in the Pashtun-dominated south and east. In Herat, an important commercial hub near the Iran border, hundreds of people took to the streets, dancing and singing in celebration. A weakened Afghan government under Mr Karzai would be a blow for US President Barack Obama as he considers whether to send up to 40,000 more troops to fight a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan. Western officials and analysts said it was too late to remove fears about President Karzai’s legitimacy and said the man who has ruled since US-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in 2001 would have to work much harder to retain the confidence of the West.

“The credibility of the Karzai government is not going to be simply decided by this election, it will now be decided by the actions the president takes over the coming days and weeks,” said a Kabul-based western official who asked not to be named.

“The first test will be the formation of his Cabinet. If he is serious about reform we need to see that,” he said. But others described the outcome as political expediency. The result came at the end of a tumultuous day, which included a surprise visit by United Nations Secretary-General ­ Ban Ki-moon.

“Not only are the citizens of Nato countries with forces fighting here supposed to buy into this hastily cobbled together sham, apparently the Afghan people are as well,” said Norine MacDonald, president of think-tank the International Council on Security and Development. Mr Ban and the US embassy in Kabul congratulated Mr Karzai.