Afghan poll to go to run-off vote
Updated on 20 October 2009
Afghanistan will hold a run-off election to decide its new leader, after President Hamid Karzai agreed to face a second round of voting.
Mr Karzai said he accepted the findings by a United Nations-led fraud panel, which threw out thousands of votes, denying him an outright win.
He will now face his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah on 7 November.
It has emerged that Gordon Brown spoke to Karzai four times this week telling him that democracy must triumph, so will British soldiers have to risk their lives again to secure polling stations in southern Afghanistan?
In the past, Karzai has rejected suggestions of a run-off, but speaking on Afghanistan television, he said: "We believe that this decision of the IEC is legitimate, legal and constitutional and that it strengthens the path towards domocracy."
The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised Karzai for accepting the IEC's findings but warned the country faces a "big challenge" to arrange the second ballot.
By mid-November, it will be difficult to travel from remote parts of Afghanistan to cast votes but Ban has promised to help make the election as transparent and credible as possible.
He said: "We must not repeat what they have done last time."
Meanwhille, the American senator John Kerry has also praised Karzai's announcement.
After spending several days in Afghanistan and holding several meetings with Karzai, he said: "The international community is committed to carry out this election and to make the runoff a success.
"We know it will be difficult and require sacrifice. But we are committed to this effort".
Kerry said Karzai had shown "great leadership with his decision".
Analysts have said Karzai - who is a Pashtun, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group - is likely to win a second round of voting, but the scale of fraud alleged in the first round may continue to cast a shadow over the legitimacy of his rule.
