Afghan election commission orders runoff

Afghanistan's election commission ordered a Nov. 7 runoff in the disputed presidential poll after a fraud investigation dropped incumbent Hamid Karzai's votes below 50 percent of the total.

Afghanistan’s election commission ordered a Nov. 7 runoff in the disputed presidential poll after a fraud investigation dropped incumbent Hamid Karzai’s votes below 50 percent of the total.

Karzai accepted the finding and agreed to a second round vote.

The announcement came two months to the day after the first round vote and follows weeks of political uncertainty at a time when Taliban strength is growing.

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The chairman of the Independent Election Commission,Azizullah Lodin,said the commission,which organized the Aug. 20 vote,did not want to “leave the people of Afghanistan in uncertainty” any longer.

“The commission is agreed to go to a second round and say that nobody got more than 50 percent,” Lodin said. Afghan electoral law says a runoff is needed if no candidate gets above that percentage.

Lodin said all the materials are ready for the Nov. 7 runoff.

Karzai announced his acceptance of the findings at a press conference alongside US Sen. John Kerry and Kai Eide,the head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan. Kerry said the agreement on a second round had transformed the crisis into a “moment of great opportunity”.