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20 October 2009
Obama Lauds Afghan President’s Participation in Runoff Vote
Washington — Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s agreement to participate in a runoff vote for his country’s presidential election is “an important step forward” toward ensuring a credible electoral process and it strengthens Afghanistan’s democracy, President Obama says.
Obama issued a statement October 20 welcoming Karzai’s decision, which came after the Independent Election Commission (IEC) of Afghanistan determined that the incumbent president had received a majority of votes from the August 20 election, but at 49.67 percent had come just short of the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff vote. The second round voting has been scheduled for November 7.
The election, the first run by Afghans after the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban, occurred despite threats from Taliban fighters and violence against civilians and security forces. The process of counting the votes was delayed as both the IEC and the U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) investigated claims of voter fraud and election irregularities.
“While this election could have remained unresolved to the detriment of the country, President Karzai’s constructive actions established an important precedent for Afghanistan’s new democracy. The Afghan Constitution and laws are strengthened by President Karzai’s decision, which is in the best interests of the Afghan people,” Obama said.
“It is now vital that all elements of Afghan society continue to come together to advance democracy, peace and justice,” he said, noting that the United States and the international community “are committed to partnering with the Afghan people.”
The president congratulated Afghan voters for their “patience and resilience” throughout the election process, and for their courage in overcoming threats and violence from extremist groups to participate in the democratic process at the polls.
“Insecurity in the country prevented some Afghans from voting, but it is a testimony to the bravery of the Afghan people that so many of them did come out to vote in the first round under tremendously difficult circumstances,” he said.
Obama also congratulated the runner-up, former Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, who will face Karzai in the runoff vote, and the other presidential candidates for running “a vibrant campaign.” The IEC and ECC also carried out their mandates to combat electoral fraud and investigate irregularities, and the president said the United States “has been interested above all in the strength and independence of those institutions, and the need for them to fulfill their mandate on behalf of all Afghans.”
In a separate statement, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said October 20 that with the decision to hold the runoff vote, “Afghans showed today that their processes work.”
Clinton pledged U.S. support to the election authorities for the November 7 contest and said the Obama administration remains committed to its partnership with the Afghan people and government “on our shared objectives of strengthening good governance, tackling corruption, increasing economic opportunities and improving security for all Afghans.”
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said October 20 that the Afghan people “should feel proud” of how the electoral process they established and carried out has worked.
Despite the ongoing challenges to the country’s infrastructure and the armed conflict, Afghan institutions carried out the vote and set up “very specific technical tripwires and mechanisms” to catch electoral fraud. “The bottom line is the system worked,” Kelly said.
U.S. Senator John Kerry, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, arrived in Kabul on October 16 and held discussions with Karzai and Abdullah prior to the IEC’s announcement, according to news reports.
In his remarks prepared for an October 20 press conference with Karzai and U.N. Special Representative to Afghanistan Kai Eide, Kerry said, “We are all mindful of the difficult work ahead,” but Afghanistan’s future “will ultimately be determined by Afghan’s civilians and through good governance, not soldiers or the international community.”
The senator called for strengthening the Afghan government’s capacity to provide for its citizens, saying that along with President Karzai’s commitments to reform, the United States and the international community must be “true partners in this effort.”
Kai Eide, who heads the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, issued a statement October 20 saying the institutions and processes involved in the election “have functioned the way they should,” which is especially important for Afghanistan as it remains in conflict and has a young democracy.
“For me throughout all these months, there has been one consideration that has been the center of all my attention and my work, and that has been the respect for the Afghan constitution, the legal frameworks and institutions that have been put in place to help move the election process forward,” Eide said.
The U.N. representative said he looks forward to “a dignified campaign” between Karzai and Abdullah, and once the final result has been reached after November 7, the goal of both the international community and Afghan government must be to improve the process for the next vote. “The Afghan people deserve that,” he said.
The full text of Obama's statement is available on America.gov.
