Afghanistan's Abdullah pulls out of Afghan run-off election

KABUL: Afghanistan's presidential challenger announced he would not participate in next weekend's runoff election because his demands for measures to prevent fraud were rejected. He stopped short of calling on his supporters to boycott the balloting.

"I will not participate in the November 7 election," Abdullah Abdullah told supporters, because a "transparent election is not possible."

Abdullah made no mention of agreeing to take part in any future unity government with President Hamid Karzai, which the US and its international partners believe is the best hope for curbing the Taliban insurgency.

Asked by reporters if he was calling for a boycott, Abdullah said: "I have not made that call."

Abdullah's running mate Homayoun Assefy said it was up to the government's Independent Election Commission to decide whether to hold the runoff next Saturday as scheduled.

Karzai campaign spokesman Waheed Omar said it was "very unfortunate" that Abdullah had withdrawn from the race but that the Saturday runoff should proceed without him.

"We believe that the elections have to go on, the process has to complete itself, the people of Afghanistan have to be given the right to vote," Omar said.