Wahington, October 31: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says a boycott of the run-off election in Afghanistan by runner-up Abdullah Abdullah won’t de-legitimise the poll.
Mrs Clinton, who was asked whether the outcome of a run-off with only one candidate would result in a legitimate government, said such situations are “not unprecedented” and occur in the United States and other countries.
“We see that happen in our own country where, for whatever combination of reasons, one of the candidates decides not to go forward. I don’t think it has anything to do with the legitimacy of the election,” she said.
Earlier, an official in the Abdullah campaign said the former foreign minister was poised to boycott the run-off unless incumbent Hamid Karzai bows to a series of demands from him.
Following widespread fraud in the August first round, Mr Abdullah has demanded that Mr Karzai sack the head of the Independent Electoral Commission and suspend four ministers who campaigned for the incumbent.
“I’m not going to comment on what any of the candidates might decide to do,” Mrs Clinton said, adding: “It’s a personal choice which may or may not be made.”
—Agencies