Kabul credibility woes deepen

By Alex Stevenson Skip related content

Gordon Brown has pledged his support to work with a legitimate Afghan government - despite the uncertainty shrouding where that government will come from.

Presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah's decision to pull out of next weekend's second round of voting has plunged the legitimacy of the struggling country's government into further doubt.

Former foreign minister Mr Abdullah came second to incumbent Hamid Karzai in the fraud-ridden first round of voting on August 20th.

"I think the legitimacy of the process was damaged," he said, referring to allegations of vote-rigging which resulted in up to one-third of votes cast being rejected.

"There are a lot of concerns and those were the basis of my decision."

In a further blow to the process he said the "only independent thing" about Afghanistan's independent election commission was its name.

His move casts the future government of Afghanistan in doubt.

If the runoff vote goes ahead with only Mr Karzai standing observers say the credibility of his administration, a vital factor in the country's struggle against the Taliban, could be severely damaged.

Analysts fear it is not clear what steps the British government can take to improve the situation. Mr Brown's comments yesterday did not extend beyond expressing unspecific hopes for the emergence of a credible government in Kabul.

The prime minister said: "Along with the whole international community, including our over 40 international partners in Afghanistan, we hope to see an Afghan government emerge that responds to the will of the people, that reaches out to all parts of Afghan society, and that is ready to take strong action to meet the challenges that Afghanistan faces.

"We are ready to work in close partnership with such a government."

The run-off election, which may or may not take place, is scheduled for November 7th.