by RAY FLEMING
THE trial of strength between President Karsai of Afghanistan, and the UN and western powers with a substantial stake in the country's future, went in favour of the latter yesterday after weeks of a tense stand-off following the presidential election. Karsai, who needed a 50 per cent share of the vote to win outright was allowed to say that he had obtained 49.62 per cent -- requiring a run-off but enabling him to claim to have been the moral victor. The re-run will take place on November 7 and Karsai will probably defeat his opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, without too great a recourse to the kind of crude and widespread vote rigging that marred the first stage.
It would have been unacceptable for the United States, Britain, Canada, France and other countries to have agreed to work with a President elected by fraud. On the other hand, the agreement reached only on Monday night after representations from many quarters, will have left Hamid Karsai with a feeling of resentment and loss of face, however unreasonable that may seem.
The relationship between him and the US and Nato governments involved in Afghanistan will be even more difficult than it has been during the past four years. One question remains open: having said that he could not make a decision on the US's future strategy in Afghanistan until the election issue was decided, will President Obama now make that decision or wait for another three weeks until after November 7?