Karzai’s rival claims elections are hopelessly corrupt
Hamid Karzai’s main challenger for the Afghan presidency has dropped out of the race. Abdullah Abdullah, who was supposed to participate in a run-off election scheduled for next week, stepped down on Saturday, blaming “the wrongdoing of the Independent Election Commission and the abuse of power by the government.” The announcement came after last-ditch negotiations failed to secure a power-sharing deal in which Abdullah would’ve conceded defeat. In return, he had asked for a number of changes to the Afghan election body, including the dismissal of its lead commissioner. However, almost all of Abdullah’s demands were rejected.