An Afghan man dances as he celebrates Hamid Karzai's victory over Abdullah Abdullah in the Afghanistan presidential election, in Herat November 2, 2009. Afghan election officials declared Karzai president for another five-year term on Monday after scrapping a planned election run-off following the withdrawal of his only rival, Abdullah Abdullah. (Morteza Nikoubazl/Reuters)
Karzai declared winner by default
The Afghan president gains a second 5-year term but there are questions about the legitimacy of his win.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s protracted election nightmare seems to be finally drawing to an end. On Monday evening, in a nationally televised press conference, Hamid Karzai was declared the winner of the 2009 presidential ballot by the Independent Election Commission (IEC).
“To prevent unnecessary circumstances which we saw in the past … and to save money from the huge expenses of the election, and in accordance with the interests of the Afghan people … the IEC has decided … that Hamid Karzai, as the only candidate for the second round of elections, be declared the elected president of Afghanistan,” said IEC head Azizullah Lodin.
The announcement effectively scraps the runoff election scheduled for Nov. 7.
The second round of voting had been an extremely iffy proposition since Sunday, when Karzai’s rival, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from the race. Citing Karzai’s refusal to undertake any significant measures to prevent fraud in the second round, Abdullah pulled out, thereby throwing the entire election process into a tailspin.
Abdullah’s main conditions for taking part in the elections included the sacking of IEC head Lodin, who, according to Abdullah, was a Karzai crony complicit in the massive vote-rigging that all but scuppered the first round of the elections. But instead of losing his job, Lodin beamed for the cameras as he announced Karzai the winner.
“We pray for his success,” he said in closing.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon had flown to Kabul on Monday to try and help resolve the crisis. He reportedly put pressure on the IEC to announce its decision on the runoff quickly, and held a press conference to pledge support to whatever government finally emerges from the months-long stalemate in Afghanistan.
It may not be the most gratifying victory of Karzai’s career: He has spent the past two months fighting off charges that his supporters massively and systemically falsified the first round of the elections, which were held on Aug. 20. The IEC initially declared Karzai the winner on Sept. 16, only to have to retract that announcement when it became clear that his 55 percent tally contained close to 1 million fake votes.
The runoff, which Karzai fiercely resisted, was supposed to erase the stigma of the first round, and give the president some much-needed legitimacy. It was all but forced on him by the international community, headed by U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who hailed Karzai as a statesman when he finally agreed to bow to his country’s constitution and participate in a second round of elections.
Recent on Afghanistan:
America's farmer-soldiers in Afghanistan
Douglas A. Wissing - Afghanistan - November 20, 2009 14:30 ET
An elite Indiana National Guard unit is patrolling Khost Province, helping Afghan farmers to help themselves.
Afghanistan's only pig quarantined? Must be bad
Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - November 13, 2009 17:25 ET
Swine flu has sent one of the world's most unflappable populations into a panic.
Afghanistan: Waiting for the dust to settle
Finbarr O'Reilly - Afghanistan - November 12, 2009 16:45 ET
Troops' deaths shatter trust in Helmand
Jean MacKenzie and Aziz Ahmad Tassal - Afghanistan - November 8, 2009 15:13 ET
Afghans and Brits alike fear that the deaths of 5 British troops at the hands of a police colleague have tipped an already tense working relationship into outright distrust.
Afghanistan: The fog of war
Finbarr O'Reilly - Afghanistan - November 5, 2009 10:51 ET
Video: Embedded with Canadian troops, photographer Finbarr O'Reilly captures the confusion and chaos of a worsening conflict.
.jpg)
Why Poland has soured on Afghanistan
Jan Cienski - Poland - November 4, 2009 06:46 ET
A recent poll found 77 percent of Poles want their troops withdrawn.
Greek aid worker held by Taliban
Iason Athanasiadis - Afghanistan - November 3, 2009 06:44 ET
A schoolteacher from Athens was the only Westerner living in the valleys on Pakistan’s mountainous frontier.
Why Stephen Harper prefers US news
Sandro Contenta - Canada - November 2, 2009 20:08 ET
Questions over Canada’s role in the Afghanistan war and unflattering polls have the prime minister eyeing the exits.
Karzai declared winner by default
Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - November 2, 2009 12:26 ET
The Afghan president gains a second 5-year term but there are questions about the legitimacy of his win.
Abdullah withdraws from Afghan election
Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - November 1, 2009 11:23 ET
Can runoff race be valid with only President Hamid Karzai?
Taliban attacks on both sides of the AfPak border
Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - October 28, 2009 10:34 ET
In Kabul and Peshawar, nearly 100 dead, among them UN staffers.
Rumor sparks anti-American protests
Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - October 25, 2009 10:14 ET
A Koran-burning incident in Afghanistan prompts demonstrations in Kabul.
Flanked by foreign dignitaries, Karzai announces a runoff
Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - October 20, 2009 10:43 ET
Two months to the day after Afghanistan’s badly flawed presidential elections, the stalemate is over.
Major fraud finding adds to pressure on Karzai
Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - October 20, 2009 06:04 ET
A UN-backed body found that fraud may have handed the Afghan president an illegal majority, but Karzai is resisting a runoff.
Interview: Ambassador Ryan Crocker
C.M. Sennott - Worldview - October 19, 2009 09:16 ET
The longtime diplomat says Obama needs to choose an AfPak strategy before the Taliban further consolidates its hold.
Did a US 'hit' create an Afghan hero?
Jean MacKenzie and Mustafa Saber - Afghanistan - October 15, 2009 12:48 ET
American forces have finally managed to kill Ghulam Yahya Akbari, the self-styled scourge of Herat, a city he had once served as mayor. But at what cost?
A dark anniversary
Jean MacKenzie - Worldview - October 10, 2009 09:48 ET
Taking stock of the eight years since the US invaded Afghanistan: The Taliban is back, America is bogged down and Afghans are tired of it all.
Are Pentagon contracts funding the Taliban?
Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - October 7, 2009 12:44 ET
A US military aid program is being used by the Taliban as an extortion racket.
Opinion: Isolating insurgents is nothing new
HDS Greenway - Worldview - October 6, 2009 05:42 ET
In the Vietnam era it was called pacification. Today it’s nation-building.
Watch GlobalPost videos:
Reporter's Notebook
The news that an otherwise normal-seeming Afghan policeman killed five British soldiers and wounded six more in Helmand this past week was shocking....Read more >
It is most inconvenient to take a shower wearing a flak jacket and helmet, but that may have to be my new morning routine. I was at the Kabul Serena...Read more >
I swear I saw a Cheshire-cat grin slowly evaporating around President Hamid Karzai at today’s press conference, where he was hailed as a...Read more >
Featured: Special Projects
After the Fall:
20 years since the Berlin Wall came down
Life, Death and the Taliban:
Videos and stories
Study Abroad:
Students report from the road
Living in the Shadows:
An intimate look at China's migrant workers
A World of Trouble:
The global economy in 20 hotspots
Global Blogs:
Comments:
No Comments.
Login or Register to post comments