Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks as Kai Eide, head of the United Nations AP – Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks as Kai Eide, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, …
By TODD PITMAN and HEIDI VOGT, Associated Press Writers Todd Pitman And Heidi Vogt, Associated Press Writers – 4 mins ago
KABUL – A grim President Hamid Karzai bowed to intense U.S. pressure and agreed Tuesday to a runoff election Nov. 7, acknowledging he fell short of a majority after U.N.-backed auditors stripped him of nearly a third of his votes. With the fraud investigation completed, election officials must now scramble to organize a new ballot as the fierce Afghan winter approaches and the country faces a growing threat from Taliban insurgents. President Barack Obama said he called Karzai to welcome his willingness to run in a new election against his main rival Abdullah Abdullah. "President Karzai's constructive actions established an important precedent for Afghanistan's new democracy," Obama said." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also complimented Karzai's decision but stressed that a new election will be a "huge challenge." "We have learned very valuable but painful lessons from the first election," Ban told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York. "We must not repeat what they have done last time." Karzai spoke at a news conference after meeting at least four times with U.S. Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.