Karzai government 'toothless and illegal'
Hamid Karzai's Afghan administration is illegal and will be unable to fight corruption, Abdullah Abdullah says
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By Michael Younger. |  |
Wednesday, 04, Nov 2009 02:50
By Matthew Champion.
Hamid Karzai's incoming Afghan administration is illegal and will be unable to fight corruption as a result, Abdullah Abdullah has said.
Mr Karzai was declared the winner of August's presidential election on Monday by the country's independent election commission (IEC) after Dr Abdullah pulled out of a second round of voting planned for next Saturday.
The IEC cited Afghanistan's constitution in handing Mr Karzai a second term as president, stating a runoff vote could only take place with the participation of two candidates.
But Dr Abdullah, a former foreign minister in Mr Karzai's last government, said the decision "does not have any legal basis".
"A government which takes power based on such a commission's decision cannot have legitimacy," he said on Wednesday in his first public appearance since Mr Karzai's re-election.
"Such a government which lacks legitimacy cannot fight corruption.
"A government which comes to power without the people's support cannot fight phenomena of terrorism threats, unemployment, poverty and hundreds of other problems."
Widespread fraud beset the initial August elections, with more than one million votes for Mr Karzai being thrown out and taking him below the required 50 per cent needed to declare overall majority.
Dr Abdullah pulled out this weekend however on the grounds that the election was still not going to be free of fraud as officials who participated in the vote-rigging in August had not been replaced.
In a low-key victory speech on Monday, Mr Karzai pledged an inclusive for "all parts of the country".
"Our government will be the mirror of Afghanistan so everyone can see themselves in the mirror," he said.
Imminent "crucial changes" in Afghanistan's government would see the "blemish" of corruption firmly tackled, he added.