Afghan Runoff Election Canceled, Commission Says
KABUL — Hamid Karzai was declared the winner by default Monday in Afghanistan's fraud-marred presidential election, increasing the pressure on President Barack Obama to end his marathon deliberations at a time when a scaled-down version of his commander's ambitious plans is gaining support.
Obama welcomed Karzai's election with as much admonishment as praise, telling America's partner in war that he expects a more serious effort to end corruption in his government and ready his nation to defend itself when international troops ultimately withdraw.
"I emphasized that this has to be a point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter," Obama said in describing his congratulatory phone call to Karzai. The U.S. president said that when Karzai offered back assurances, Obama told him that "the proof is not going to be in words. It's going to be in deeds."
Afghan politicians with ties to Karzai said they expected him to try to restore credibility abroad by offering Cabinet posts to supporters of his chief rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.
But Obama's words appeared to be a sharp warning to Karzai that the American public would not support a significant increase in resources unless it is satisfied that a credible Afghan government is fully committed to tackle the problems of corruption and bad governance which have swelled insurgent ranks.
The messy end to the election left the United States and its partners with the difficult task of helping the Karzai government restore legitimacy both at home and abroad. Public support for the war is already dropping in the U.S. and other countries with troops in Afghanistan. The image of a fraud-stained Afghan partner does little to reverse the slide.
Karzai was declared the winner one day after Abdullah dropped out of the scheduled Nov. 7 runoff. Abdullah said the election would not have been fair and accused the Karzai-appointed Independent Election Commission of bias.
The election now decided, House Republican leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Obama has no reason to wait any longer to decide whether to accept recommendations by his top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, for up to 80,000 more troops.
"The White House has no further pretext for delaying the decision on giving Gen. McChrystal the resources he needs," Boehner said.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledged that Karzai's win is a factor in the coming decision but did not say the timetable for an announcement has changed.
"I think the decision ... still will be made in the coming weeks," Gibbs said.
Obama is considering several options to increase the number of troops fighting in Afghanistan, including Gen. Stanley McChrystal's preference of about 40,000 additional U.S. forces next year. U.S. officials have told The Associated Press that a scaled-down version of that request is gaining favor but that no final decision has been made.
Adding fewer forces than McChrystal really wants at the outset could give the administration additional flexibility later, officials have said. The option carries political risks, however, since Democrats weary of the war will rue any increase in the U.S. fighting force while giving McChrystal less than full measure opens the White House to criticism from the right that it is undercutting U.S. troops.
Abdullah's decision to withdraw from the runoff brought huge relief to organizers who were scrambling to hold the election before the onset of Afghanistan's harsh winter. Afghan and international officials feared a wave of bloody violence on polling day after the Taliban threatened attacks against anyone who took part.
Karzai initially won a majority of votes in the first-round balloting last August. But fraud investigators threw out nearly a third of his votes, dropping him below the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright. Under intense U.S. pressure, he reluctantly agreed to accept those findings and agree to a runoff.
The commission chairman, Azizullah Lodin, declared that Abdullah's move Sunday to withdraw meant the president won a majority of the votes cast among the dozens of other candidates in the first round and proclaimed him the winner.
"This has been a difficult election process for Afghanistan, and lessons must be learned," U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said Monday during a surprise visit to Kabul. "Afghanistan now faces significant challenges and the new president must move swiftly to form a government that is able to command the support of both the Afghan people and the international community."
In Washington, two U.S. officials involved in the strategy discussions said a flawed second round would have left Karzai with even less credibility. Abdullah's move to highlight fraud charges puts pressure on Karzai to move vigorously to combat corruption.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama has not announced his decision on strategy and troops.
"We're prepared to work with this partner, who was elected according to Afghan laws in an election that was conducted by Afghan institutions, and we have a big stake in Afghanistan," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said. "The international community has a big stake in Afghanistan and we stand ready to support them as they go forward."
An Afghan close to Karzai said the president was under strong international pressure to include Abdullah supporters and others from outside his campaign in the new government. He said Karzai was unhappy with the pressure because he feared a government with so many critics would be unwieldy and "nothing will get done." He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to discuss the issue publicly.
Karzai turned down a power-sharing deal offered on the eve of Abdullah's announcement, according to Western diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the talks.
Nevertheless, several Afghan politicians with ties to Karzai said they expect him to offer some Cabinet posts to Abdullah's supporters and others outside his campaign now that he has been declared the winner.
"We are speculating that there will be or already has been some kind of agreement or consensus for the sake of national unity to give some posts to Dr. Abdullah and his close associates," said Khalid Pashtun, a prominent lawmaker. "I would think, however, that it is a good possibility that he could be offered the foreign ministry and perhaps also finance and education."
Pashtun's brother Yusuf Pashtun, Karzai's minister of urban affairs, said he had no firm word on whether Cabinet posts would be offered to Abdullah but "my feeling is I would like to see him on the team."
During the campaign, Karzai rejected calls for a coalition but said he would support a "government of national unity," in effect giving former opponents state jobs or Cabinet posts but subordinate to him.
Opposition to formal coalition government runs deep among Afghans, who associate the term with the chaotic alliance of armed factions that tried to rule after the collapse of the pro-Soviet regime in 1992. The alliance broke apart, triggering a civil war that destroyed much of Kabul and paved the way for the rise of the Taliban.
Many of Karzai's fellow ethnic Pashtun supporters don't want to see him hand over too much power to Abdullah's mostly Tajik followers.
"He should not let Abdullah dictate demands," said Bismillah Afghan Mul, a member of the provincial council in Karzai's home province of Kandahar. "Karzai should have Abdullah in his Cabinet for the sake of national unity but he shouldn't give him whatever he wants."
Some Afghans not involved in politics questioned whether bringing former Karzai opponents into the Cabinet alone would address their concerns, including security, corruption and the lack of basic services such as clean water, electricity and roads.
"All these faces, whether President Karzai or Abdullah Abdullah, are familiar faces to the people of Afghanistan. They have always advanced their personal interests rather than the national interest," said Ehsanullah Ehsan, a Kandahar school teacher. "People in the south have lost their confidence and their trust in all these people and have no faith that anything will happen to make their lives better."
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Vogt reported from Kabul, Gearan from Washington. Associated Press Writers Todd Pitman in Kabul, Kathy Gannon and Noor Khan in Kandahar, and Matt Lee and Ben Feller in Washington contributed to this report.
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HEIDI VOGT and ANNE GEARAN | 11/ 2/09 06:23 PM |