Challenger Abdullah Abdullah yesterday pulled out of Afghanistan's run-off election, plunging the country into fresh political chaos as international pressure grew for the race to be scrapped.
Two-and-a-half months after Afghans went to the polls to elect a president for the second time in history, Mr Abdullah's move appeared to guarantee President Hamid Karzai a second term in office but flung his legitimacy into doubt.
After Mr Karzai snubbed a series of demands promoted by his rival as a chance to avoid a repeat of massive first-round fraud, Mr Abdullah said he saw no point in standing, but stopped short of calling for a boycott.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC), whose leaders were appointed by Mr Karzai, said the run-off would take place as scheduled on November 7.
But Mr Karzai opened the door to a possible solution in the courts and a UN spokesman conceded it was "difficult to see" how an election could take place with just one candidate, particularly with such a volatile security situation.
The Taliban, the Islamist militia behind a raging insurgency, threatened to carry out new attacks if the election takes place and analysts predicted any ballot would be hampered by even lower turnout than August's 38.7 per cent.
"In protest against the misconduct of the government and the Independent Election Commission, I will not participate in the election," Mr Abdullah told supporters during an emotional and lengthy address in Kabul.
The former eye surgeon, whose powerbase is concentrated in the north and who has campaigned for political reform, launched a scathing attack on the "eight years of lost opportunities" during Mr Karzai's rule.
Appearing to dim prospects the rivals could yet agree on a power-sharing deal, he later held out the possibility of coming to some agreement with his rival during an interview with Britain's Sky News.
"Whether there is a prospect of working or not with Mr Karzai, I'll leave it (for now). I think it's too early a stage," he said.
Following the widespread fraud in the first round on August 20, Abdullah demanded Mr Karzai sack the IEC's head, Azizullah Ludin, and suspend four ministers who campaigned for the incumbent.
Snubbing his demands, but reacting to the withdrawal, Mr Karzai's office said the president "regretted" the move but would "be obliged to follow" any ruling on the run-off from the election commission or the courts. IEC chief electoral officer Daoud Ali Najafi said it was too late for Abdullah's name to be struck from ballot papers.
"We'll go for a run-off as scheduled," he said.
The prospect of a one-horse race amid the threat of Taliban attacks runs the risk of lowering turnout to farcical levels and undermining Mr Karzai's legitimacy. Turnout in August was as a low as five percent in some areas.