Carville to Advise Karzai Challenger

Dispute could spark fresh fighting in northern province

(NEWSER) - A powerful warlord-turned-governor's rejection of Hamid Karzai's election victory is raising fears that one of Afghanistan's most stable provinces could collapse into fighting. Atta Mohammed Noor—the only one of Afghanistan's 34 governors to have openly supported Karzai's rival, Abdullah Abdullah—has denounced Karzai as an "unlawful president." His many supporters in the northern province of Balkh are expected to turn violent if the federal government tries to remove him. More»

Karzai congratulated, told to clean up his government

(NEWSER) - President Obama congratulated Hamid Karzai on his "messy" election victory yesterday while warning him that it was time to clean up corruption in his government. "I emphasized that this has to be a point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter," said Obama, describing a phone call with the Afghan president. The White House stressed that Karzai now has legal legitimacy but still needs to earn credibility, reports AP. More»

Abdullah demands overhaul of Afghan election commission

(NEWSER) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s strongest political challenger may boycott next month's planned runoff election if the country’s election commission is not completely purged of Karzai supporters. Abdullah Abdullah has consistently charged that without a commission overhaul the vote-rigging which marred the original election is bound to be repeated. Diplomats worry that Abdullah’s withdrawal could wreck the nation’s fragile democracy. More»

(AP) - Hamid Karzai intends to announce tomorrow how he will "set the stage" for resolving the country's postelection political crisis, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today. She wouldn't say whether the Afghan president has decided to accept the findings of a UN-backed fraud investigation that threw out nearly a third of Karzai's ballots from the disputed August election and set the stage for a runoff. More»

'Stunning' second ballot complicates Obama strategy

(NEWSER) - President Hamid Karzai's share of the vote in Afghanistan's presidential election has reportedly fallen to about 47% after an investigation into fraudulent ballots—meaning that he will face Abdullah Abdullah in a runoff if the result is finalized today. One Afghan official called the development "stunning," and a Karzai ally conceded that a runoff was likely. New ballots have already been printed, and the US and NATO want the vote to take place in early November to avoid the harsh Afghan winter. More»