EU urges Karzai to allow new Afghan vote if required
(BRUSSELS) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai must allow a second round presidential vote if a fraud enquiry deems the initial vote count invalid, the Swedish EU presidency said Monday, amid fears that he will refuse.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt called on all sides "to fully respect all parts of the agreed procedure, that includes the work of the (UN-backed ECC) electoral complaint commission and the independent election commission.
"If these results point towards the need for a second round, a second round must be held," he stressed during a press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Brussels.
A European diplomat explained the need for such a call from the European Union.
"We received worrying news that he (Karzai) might not accept a run-off vote," one European diplomat said.
"We want to underline to president Karzai the importance of guaranteeing the credibility and the legitimacy of the future president of Afghanistan," the diplomat told AFP.
Bildt, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, added that the European Union fully supported the mission of top UN envoy Kai Eide, who has been shuttling between Karzai and his main rival, ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.
The UN envoy has been trying to secure agreement from both parties to accept the ECC ruling which was to be released later Monday.
The report into mass fraud allegations that have tainted Afghanistan's presidential election on August 20 could put Karzai under intense pressure to accept a possible run-off.
The results of investigations by Electoral Complaints Commission will form the basis of a decision on whether Afghanistan can finally declare a new president or must go to the polls for a second time.
The report is expected to cut Karzai's lead from 55 percent in the preliminary results, possibly triggering a run-off as the victor must have 50 percent plus one vote to form a new government.
Karzai's main rival Abdullah has 28 percent of the vote according to the announced count and has spearheaded vote-rigging accusations against the president, once a darling of the West whose administration is accused of rampant corruption.
Text and Picture Copyright 2009 AFP. All other Copyright 2009 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.
