Karzai urges candidates to end dispute

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has urged two presidential candidates to put their differences aside and form a unity government.

Karzi called on rival presidential candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai to reach an agreement on a new national unity government as soon as possible.

“Afghanistan is in dire and urgent need of a new government,” Karzai said in Kabul on Tuesday, adding, “Our tenure has expired. We want a new government, and Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Ghani can bring us that new government through their unity.”

For the past five months, Afghanistan has been locked in a political crisis following a disputed presidential election.

On Monday, Abdullah said he did not accept the outcome of the country’s disputed presidential runoff election and that he had won the Afghan election.

Based on preliminary results from the June 14 runoff, Ghani, the former finance minister, won the Afghan election with 56.44 percent of the votes, while Abdullah, the former foreign minister, came second with 43.56 percent.

Abdullah rejected the initial results as unacceptable and fraudulent, alleging that he was the victim of “industrial-scale” ballot box stuffing, with many more votes than the voters registered in some areas.

Abdullah and Ghani signed a joint declaration on August 8, confirming they would cooperate on forming a unity government after an audit of votes from June’s poll is completed. Both candidates claimed victory in the elections.

The winner will replace Karzai, who has been in power since Washington and its allies invaded the country in 2001.

The final results are expected this week.

SRK/AS/MHB