Karzai calls for end to Afghan election impasse

Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed Tuesday for the two men vying to succeed him to end their dispute over election results and save the country from further violence and economic decline. Afghanistan has been paralysed for months after the first round of the presidential election failed to produce a clear winner and the second round of voting in June triggered allegations of massive fraud. As fears grew of a return to civil war, the United States brokered an emergency deal designed to end the impasse between poll rivals Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank economist, and former anti-Taliban fighter Abdullah Abdullah. But neither candidate appears willing to back down, and the dispute looks set to erupt again in the coming days when early results emerge from an anti-fraud audit of all eight million votes. International pressure is building for Afghanistan to select the new president by the end of the month, as the pullout of US-led NATO troops continues and Taliban insurgents launch fresh offensives. ‘I hope we stay united... so that our country is led toward peace and prosperity,’ Karzai said in a speech in Kabul to mark Independence Day, according to AFP.