Abdullah threatens to pull out of run-off

Presidential contender Abdullah Abdullah, whose second name may be the result of a press conference misunderstanding, slammed the Karzai-appointed Election Commission, and said fair elections could not be held with out significant changes. Abdullah said that unless the chief of the Election Commission, Azizullah Lodin, is sacked, along with 200 of his staffers, and unless Abdullah supporters can observe polls and vote counting, he will boycott the November 7th election.

"These conditions are not that difficult, and I have thought about the lawful and legal issues of all conditions,"Abdullah told a press conference. Abdullah has submitted his complaints to the Election Commission and to the U.N, giving the bodies till the end of the month to find a way to meet his demands. The U.N had previously considered sending fewer poll monitors than last election, in which Karzai racked up over a million fraudulent votes.

It bears mentioning that Karzai's campaign team was found to have committed election fraud as well, though not on nearly the same scale. Abdullah's lack of participation in the run-off would completely undermine President Karzai, so look for the U.S and U.N to work quickly to hatch out a last minute election rescue plan.