Afghan ex-candidate calls winner a loser
Election commission gives incumbent second term

By The Associated Press Comments 0
Published: November 5, 2009

KABUL — The challenger in Afghanistan’s recent election called President Hamid Karzai’s victory illegal and his government a failure, saying Wednesday that the tainted administration would not be able to check corruption or fend off the Taliban.

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Former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah said he did not plan to personally challenge Karzai’s victory in court but would leave it up to the Afghan people to decide whether to accept Karzai as the legitimate leader for another five-year term.

The Afghan election commission proclaimed Karzai the victor of the country’s tumultuous ballot Monday after Abdullah withdrew from a runoff race he said could not be free or fair. The decision ended a political crisis after a first round of voting in August was marred by widespread fraud.

Abdullah said the Afghan government under Karzai had squandered eight years of opportunity and the assistance of its Western allies by failing to stop corruption or to create a government that responds to the needs of the Afghan people.

"Eight years of golden opportunity we have missed,” Abdullah said of the money and lives spent by international forces. He said the Karzai government’s ineffectiveness has made more troops necessary to restore peace.

But Abdullah said he saw the messy election as finished.