KABUL - Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah says he will not take part in the upcoming presidential runoff vote, however, he stopped short of calling for a boycott of the election.

Mr. Abdullah announced his decision to pull out of the November 7 vote at a news conference Sunday morning in Kabul.   He said a transparent election will not be possible without the changes he had demanded in the Afghan election commission.

President Hamid Karzai’s campaign spokesman, Waheed Omar, said the runoff vote will go ahead, despite Mr. Abdullah’s decision. 

Abdullah Demands Not Met

Mr. Abdullah had put forth several conditions he said were necessary to avoid a repeat of the massive fraud that plagued the original August 20 presidential election.  He had demanded the removal of top election officials allegedly involved in the fraud, a step President Karzai rejected.

Last-minute talks between representatives of Mr. Abdullah and President Karzai were reported to have taken place late Saturday.

US Backs Runoff

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters Saturday in Jerusalem that a possible boycott of the vote was Mr. Abdullah’s decision to make and would not compromise the legitimacy of the runoff.   Clinton said in Abu Dhabi such situations are not unusual and have occurred in the United States and other nations.

U.S. officials say President Barack Obama is waiting until after Saturday’s runoff to make a decision about whether to send more U.S. forces to Afghanistan.

Source:  VOA News