Afghanistan: Karzai declared elected President
- 00:01:24
- ITN
Afghanistan: Karzai declared elected President
Hamid Karzai has been declared Afghanistan's president after an election run-off was cancelled. The second ballot was due to be held on November 7 but was called off when President Karzai's only rival, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew. The former foreign minister quit the race over the weekend, citing doubts about the credibility of the election process. The first vote was dogged with fraud and corruption. The election commission's chief Azizullah Ludin has said: "The Independent Election Commission declares the esteemed Hamid Karzai as the president ... because he was the winner of the first round and the only candidate in the second round." Ludin told a news conference the decision was made to spare the Afghan people the expense and risk of another election and because a one-candidate race would raise questions about the legitimacy of the presidency.. Earlier UN chief Ban Ki-moon made a visit to Kabul that had not been announced in advance, as diplomatic efforts gathered pace to resolve the prolonged political crisis.
ITN | November 2, 2009
