 "Photo: Rahmat Gul/The Associated Press")
KABUL — U.N.-backed fraud investigators on Monday threw out nearly a third of President Hamid Karzai’s votes from the August election, undercutting his claim of victory and stepping up the pressure for him to accept a runoff.
The Obama administration has been holding off on a decision to send more troops to Afghanistan until a credible government is installed in Kabul.
Both Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the U.N. secretary general signaled on Monday that a resolution was near.
Clinton said Karzai planned to announce his intentions on Tuesday, adding that she was “encouraged at the direction the situation is moving.”
The findings by the Electoral Complaints Commission dropped Karzai’s votes to 48 percent of the total, below the 50 percent threshold needed for him to avoid a runoff.
Still, it was uncertain whether the Afghan-led Independent Election Commission, which is dominated by Karzai supporters, would accept the findings and announce a second round.
Karzai campaign spokesman Waheed Omar said the Karzai camp was waiting for the election commission to formally certify the U.N.-backed panel’s findings, thereby giving them the force of law.
Karzai’s camp had complained about the panel of three foreigners and two Afghans which conducted the fraud investigation, saying foreigners were unfairly influencing the outcome.
The two-month election crisis threatens to undermine the Obama administration’s Afghan strategy at a time when public support for the eight-year war is declining in the U.S. and the Taliban-led insurgents are gaining strength.
Preliminary results released last month showed Karzai winning more than 54 percent of the vote in the 36-candidate race.
However, proclamation of a Karzai victory was withheld until the U.N.-backed commission finished its investigation into widespread fraud allegations.
The inquiry concluded last week, but the panel withheld releasing the findings while talks were held with the Karzai-dominated election commission.
The U.N.-backed panel decided to release its report Monday after the Afghan commissioners kept insisting on changes that would show Karzai winning outright. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
Abdullah campaign spokesman Fazel Sancharaki welcomed the fraud panel’s findings as “a step forward” and said the election commission had no choice but to call a runoff.
Afghans close to Karzai said the president feared the runoff was part of an Obama administration plan to oust him — a charge the U.S. has repeatedly denied. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not supposed to speak for Karzai.
Afghan officials say they can organize a runoff in about two weeks, which is close to the start of winter. After the first snows fall in the high mountain passes, it will become all but impossible to hold an election until the spring. A second round vote would also run the risk of Taliban attacks on voters similar to those carried out during the first ballot.
For those reasons, Western diplomats have urged the two sides to reach a power-sharing agreement which would avoid a new vote and bring an end to the crisis. Former U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and others held a series of weekend talks with the rival camps on a possible power-sharing deal.
Officials familiar with the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity, said both sides were open to the power-sharing idea but were far apart on details. Karzai has said he would be willing to offer posts to the opposition in a new government — which falls short of a real coalition with clearly defined powers.
