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This Article is From May 11, 2014

Frontrunner in Afghanistan Presidential Polls Endorsed by Former Rival

Frontrunner in Afghanistan Presidential Polls Endorsed by Former Rival
File photo of Dr Abdullah Abdullah
Kabul: The presidential campaign of Afghanistan candidate Dr Abdullah Abdullah has received a major shot in the arm after his rival Zalmai Rassoul officially pulled out of the race and pledged his support to the frontrunner.

Mr Rassoul, who is currently in the third position in the ongoing counting of votes, was perceived as the favourite candidate of President Hamid Karzai.

Mr Karzai has refused to officially endorse any of the eight candidates.

Dr Abdullah is leading the first round of counting with 44.94 per cent of the total number of votes while Mr Rassoul only got 11.48 per cent of the votes.

The winner of Afghanistan's first-ever peaceful and democratic transition of power would need a simple majority or more than 50 per cent of the votes.

At a joint press conference in Kabul, Dr Abdullah claimed that a presidential run-off may not be held among the top two candidates, thanks to the support he has received from other candidates till now.

But his closest rival, Dr Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, has shown no indication of pulling out of the run-off.

At the press conference, Mr Rassoul said that he had worked well with Dr Abdullah in the past, when he was the National Security Advisor and the latter was the foreign minister.

The Afghan Independent Election Commission is scheduled to announce the final results of the first round on May 14.

So how many votes will Dr Abdullah get due to Mr Rassoul's endorsement?

Complex ethnic, regional and tribal equations make the answer to this apparently simple question a complicated one.

Mr Rassoul has acknowledged that his entire team did not endorse Dr Abdullah as some of them had some personal or ethnic concerns about his candidature.

In a bid to increase his support base, Dr Ghani has also been holding meetings with other candidates ahead of the expected second round.

A presidential run-off on June 14 can be avoided if Dr Abdullah gets more than 50 per cent of the votes or Dr Ghani withdraws from the race.

Both scenarios seem unlikely in the current political backdrop, and the already lengthy process of electing a president in this restive country may be further delayed.

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