ISAS Briefs

president, the country’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) declared Hamid Karzai, the sitting president, as the winner. He was to face a run-off with Dr Abdullah Abdullah, the man who polled the second highest number of votes in the elections held on 20 August 2009. Initial results had Karzai winning well over one-half of the total votes cast. The results were, however, contested and, after a recount of some of the suspicious votes, Karzai’s share fell below one-half, necessitating a run-off between the two candidates winning the most votes. The run-off election was scheduled for 7 November 2009. On 1 November 2009, Dr Abdullah withdrew as a candidate leading the IEC to declare Karzai the winner. Immediately after the IEC’s announcement, the United Nations, the United States and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries declared that they were ready to work with the new government to bring peace and development to the country that had gone through a series of civil wars since the Soviet Union sent in its troops in 1979. Would Karzai be able to win the support of the people not with the Taliban to fight the Taliban? At this point in time, most analysts would suggest that more troubles lie ahead for the country.