Kabul, October 16: Amid rising political uncertainty in Afghanistan, an aide to incumbent Hamid Karzai hints that the country’s disputed presidential vote could be heading for a second round.
Said Tayeb Jawad, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States said on Thursday that a run-off would probably be “a likely scenario.”
Also, a US media report has said the presidential elections have gone to a runoff.
The report says the re-count, due to be completed later on Friday, has dropped Karzai’s share of the votes to 47 percent.
This is the first time a member of Karzai’s inner circle has publicly spoken about the possibility of a runoff vote.
Jawad, who has served as Karzai’s press secretary, added that the vote should be held quickly to avoid tensions, if the elections go to a second round.
This is the first time a member of Karzai’s inner circle has publicly spoken about the possibility of a runoff vote.
The Afghan election commission had given Karzai over 54 percent of the August polls.
The incumbent’s main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, ranked second with around 28 percent.
Karzai’s rivals have accused him of rigging the elections. He has denied the charge.
This comes as US President Barack Obama is weighing a request for the deployment of additional 40,000 troops in Afghanistan.
Eight years after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the militants have extended their influence from their southern power base to the relatively peaceful north and west of the country.
The current year has been the deadliest for the foreign forces, as well as for Afghan civilians, considered the main victims of the controversial war.
—–Agencies