(eca 055) Karzai under pressure to accept vote results (News Feature)

Kabul - President Hamid Karzai is under increasing pressure by his government's Western allies to accept the findings of a UN-backed fraud investigation which is expected to force him into a runoff vote. Karzai won re-election by garnering 54 per cent of the vote in the preliminary results from country's August 20 presidential election, but the election was marred by allegations of massive fraud, mostly in favour of the incumbent. The UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), which is the final arbiter on fraud allegations, conducted a sample audit of thousands of suspicious ballots and is expected to deliver its rulings to Independent Election Commission within two days. Information about results of the ECC's findings leaked to the Washington Post and New York Times put Karzai's share of vote below 50 per cent, which would force him to hold second round of vote with his top challenger and former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah. Western officials in Kabul fear that Karzai is not likely to accept the ECC's rulings and that his decision could deepen the political uncertainty in the country. 'He (Karzai) is in total denial of fraud' a western diplomat in Kabul said, but declined to be named because he was not authorized to comment on internal politics. He said the president accepted there was some fraud taking place in the elections, but not to an extent that could force him into runoff vote. Hence, the source said, western officials were trying to nudge the incumbent to accept the outcome of the elections, which has brought into question the role of the international community and impartiality of the United Nations in the second direct vote for president in country's history. UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Clinton and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown telephoned Karzai to discuss the results, while other top Western dignitaries, including French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, and US Democratic Senator John Kerry, have flown to Kabul in the past two days in a bid to avert a post-result crisis. Kouchner, who met with Karzai and Abdullah, urged both sides on Sunday to accept the outcome of the elections, while signaling that there might be a political deal between the two sides. 'They talked, both of them, about the necessity of working together,' Kouchner told a press conference on Sunday, adding, 'working together after such an election in favour of the development of Afghanistan is absolutely necessary.' While both Karzai and Abdullah in the past have said that sharing power was not an option for them, the western official said 'they both recognize the gravity of the situation now' and their teams were already discussing ways to reach a power-sharing consensus. If the vote goes to the second round of balloting, it has to be held within two weeks, according the country's constitution, but election officials believe that due to logistic constraints they would not be ready before mid November. That would coincide with the onset of winter snow, which would block mountain passes to several districts. The Taliban's threat of attacks and widespread frustration among Afghan voters would also serve as obstacles before the second round of the elections, causing an even lower turnout than the 38.7 per cent in the first round. Going for second round 'is not a viable option' the official said, adding that while the international community would not meddle in domestic politics and would not broker deal between the two top candidates, it expects both parties to find a solution and put an end to nearly two moths of political crisis. A further delay in the outcome would also affect US plans to send thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan as demanded by top NATO commander in the country, US general Stanley McChrystal, who commands more than 100,000 international troops, including over 60,000 US forces. Senator Kerry, who met Karzai on Saturday, cautioned against US President Barack Obama's plan to raise troop levels in Afghanistan, at a time he said the country's government remained in turmoil. 'It would be entirely irresponsible for the president of the United States to commit more troops to this country, when we don't even have an election finished and know who the president is and what kind of government we're working with,' Kerry told CNN in an interview.