KABUL: As Afghan presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah quit an election run-off on Sunday, the UN conceded it was “difficult to see” how an election could take place with just one candidate.
His voice faltering and his eyes welling with tears, Abdullah told hundreds of supporters, including white-bearded tribal elders, in a giant tent used for grand assemblies that he had reached the decision “in the interests of the nation”.
A spokesman for UN mission chief Kai Eide voiced doubts about the practicality of carrying on with the election.
“It’s difficult to see how you can have a run-off with only one candidate, UN spokesman Aleem Siddique told AFP.
Abdullah accused the government of not meeting his demands for a fair vote. The situation now leaves a cloud over the legitimacy of the next government.
Election officials said hours later that the November 7 vote would go ahead with both names on ballot papers, but with Karzai as the only candidate.
“Based on election laws and based on the constitution there should be a second round. The constitution is clear,” Daoud Ali Najafi, chief electoral officer of the government-appointed Independent Election Commission, told Reuters.
Abdullah, an eye doctor and Karzai’s urbane former foreign minister, appeared to rule out any immediate chance of a power-sharing deal with Karzai in return for withdrawing, but also told his supporters not to boycott the run-off. agencies
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