AFGHANISTAN: Another top rival to Afghan election frontrunner President Hamid Karzai ended his boycott of the process yesterday, but vote counting was further delayed as a panel began to sift through dozens of complaints of fraud.
Ethnic Uzbek general Abdul Rashid Dostum joined the two other main challengers to the incumbent in agreeing to recognise the outcome of the country's first direct presidential vote.
While his decision increases the chances of the election being widely recognised by Afghans, last Saturday's poll has been overshadowed by a mix-up over the type of ink used at polling stations, raising concerns over multiple voting.
A panel set up to look into irregularities has received 43 complaints, and extended the deadline by which the 18 candidates could raise objections until this evening, making vote-counting unlikely before then.
It had been due to start yesterday morning.
Gen Dostum was one of 14 candidates who refused to recognise the outcome of the vote after the scandal over the ink broke.
The decision cast a pall over what otherwise was an often festive show of democracy by millions of men and women who defied threats of violence and suicide bombings by Taliban guerrillas bent on disrupting the poll.
"Dostum is of the view that the election is a major achievement for everyone," said his spokesman Mr Faizullah Zaki.
"He met yesterday with the candidates and all termed the election a victory, but they all said there were violations that should be assessed."
The move means all three main opponents to Mr Karzai have agreed to recognise the result if the panel does not find an unacceptable level of voting irregularities.
Officials acknowledge that voting was sometimes chaotic and rules were breached, but that irregularities and the lack of training for election staff at polling stations would not materially affect the outcome.
The Bush administration wants to claim the poll as a success before the US election on November 2nd, particularly after worsening security in Iraq has raised questions over polls scheduled there for early next year.
Meanwhile, the commander of 18,000 American-led troops in Afghanistan hunting remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda said the United States had no intention of pulling out, despite a US proposal to give NATO the leading military role as early as 2005.
"The merger will entail both of the forces coming together as opposed to one force leaving and one force staying," Lieut Gen David Barno told a news briefing.
There are also 9,000 NATO-led peacekeepers in Afghanistan, and the US proposal, on the table at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Romania, has worried some of its alliance partners concerned about changing from a peacekeeping to combat mission.
Lieut Gen Barno said the election had dealt a major blow to the Taliban insurgency against the US-backed government and foreign forces in which 1,000 people have been killed since August last year. "The overwhelming success of this election was a strategic defeat for the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and is a turning point for Afghanistan," he said.
The Taliban were toppled by US forces in 2001 for failing to hand over al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the September 11th attacks. - (Reuters)