Karzai challenger likely to exit Afghan runoff election

The challenger to President Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan's scheduled Nov. 7 runoff signaled on Saturday he might withdraw from the race by the weekend's end.

Candidate Adbullah Abdullah has long argued that he could not participate in the runoff unless Karzai fired key election officials, who threatened the fairness of the first contest's outcome. Karzai's refusal to acquiesce, however, means Abdullah is likely to announce he will boycott the race on Sunday, creating conditions ripe for a political crisis.

The move also has implications for the White House, which has spend October debating how to re-configure its Afghan strategy.

Previously, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and host of other White House officials stressed the United States needed a "credible partner" if it is expected to commit more troops to the war-torn state and devote considerable resources to strengthening its infrastructure. But the news this weekend that Afghanistan may no longer have a runoff election seriously challenges the premise that Karzai's government is credible, and it is still unclear how U.S. officials might react.

"We see that happen in our own country where, for whatever combination of reasons, one of the candidates decides no to go forward," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did say this weekend. "I don't think it has anything to do with the legitimacy of the election."

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