Afghan President Hamid Karzai today said he will not sack Afghanistan's top election official or make any changes to his cabinet, ahead of the presidential run-off on November 7th.
Earlier, his rival Abdullah Abdullah demanded that the head of the Independent Election Commission be sacked and three ministers be suspended before next week's poll, which Afghans hope will end weeks of political uncertainty.
The poll, pitting Mr Karzai against ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, is crucial to Western efforts to stabilise Afghanistan at a time when the insurgency is at its strongest since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban from power in 2001.
Mr Abdullah has demanded Afghanistan's top election official Azizullah
Ludin be sacked and the interior, education and tribal affairs ministers suspended during the election period.
“We will wait for the commission's reply until October 31 and until then we suspend all of our relations with the commission,” he told reporters in the garden of his house in Kabul.
Concerns about a repeat of the fraud that tainted the first round have cast a shadow over election preparations.
More than 200 election officials are being sacked or replaced to prevent a repeat of fraud and many suspect polling stations will be closed.
Security has been tightened in Kabul ahead of the November 7th vote, particularly after the Taliban vowed to disrupt the poll and urged Afghans to boycott it, as they had done before the Aug. 20 first round election.
Reuters