Afghanistan to Hold New Run-Off Presidential Elections

Karzai told a news conference that he accepted the findings, adding they were a "step forward" for democracy. Photo by BGNES

Afghanistan will hold a deciding round of its problem-hit presidential poll on 7 November, pitting Hamid Karzai against his rival Abdullah Abdullah.

News of the run-off vote follows weeks of mounting international pressure.

It comes a day after a UN-backed panel said it had clear evidence of fraud in August's first round, lowering Karzai's vote share below 50%.

Karzai told a news conference that he accepted the findings, adding they were a "step forward" for democracy.

Initial results suggested Karzai, the incumbent, had received 55% of the vote, and ex-Foreign Minister Abdullah 28%.

But the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) ordered that ballots from 210 polling stations be discounted.