Hamid Karzai is declared the winner after runoff vote cancelation.
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.
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 on Monday after Abdullah withdrew from a runoff race he said could not be free or fair. The decision ended a political crisis two and a half months after a first round of voting in August was marred by widespread fraud.
It was widely believed that Karzai would have won the runoff vote, but Abdullah contended that he was quitting not as a concession, but because he couldn't trust the process. The Karzai-appointed election commission had rejected reforms for the runoff suggested by the U.N. and a list of conditions set forth by Abdullah's camp.
Abdullah appeared to be setting himself up as an opposition leader in a country where political parties are not strong and there has never been a vigorous political movement in opposition to the president. Karzai has repeatedly said that political parties are too divisive for war-scarred Afghanistan and described himself as an independent open to working with everyone.
U.S. officials have been anxious for a credible, legitimate government to emerge from the turbulent electoral process to serve as reliable partner against the Taliban and solidify public support for the fight against the insurgents.
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.
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