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Obama backs Karzai, despite vote-rigging

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-11-03 05:05

Afghan President Hamid Karzai waves as he waits to meet U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Kabul November 2, 2009. [Agencies]

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration said it recognized Hamid Karzai as the legitimate president of Afghanistan on Monday despite a fraud-riddled election that saw millions of ballots favoring Karzai thrown out.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs faced repeated questions at a briefing on how Washington could work with Karzai when his legitimacy had been so widely questioned after the tainted August vote.

"President Karzai has been declared the winner ... so obviously he is the legitimate leader of the country," said Gibbs, without directly addressing questions on whether the administration also saw him as credible.

Full Coverage:  Afghan Presidential Election Related readings:  Karzai declared Afghan president, run-off cancelled  Afghan run-off canceled with Karzai winning  Karzai says wants 'better' Afghan election run-off  Obama welcomes Karzai's acceptance of 2nd round election

Gibbs tried to put the best face on a situation that presents a potential headache for the Obama administration, saying the withdrawal of Karzai's main challenger from a November 7 run-off vote had left the Afghan president as the only candidate standing in the election.

Afghan election officials on Monday scrapped the run-off vote and declared Karzai president after former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah withdrew, citing doubts about the fairness of the process.

US officials had said previously they needed a credible partner in Afghanistan as Obama considers a request from his top commander in Afghanistan for an increase of up to 40,000 troops to halt a deteriorating security situation.

Gibbs said Obama would announce his new strategy "in the next few weeks." The timing had never been dependent on the outcome of the election, he said, although administration officials had previously suggested it was a factor.

A senior administration official told Reuters that Obama was not likely to announce his new strategy before he embarked on a 10-day trip to Asia on November 11.

The decision by Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission to cancel the run-off is both a concern and a blessing for Obama.

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