KABUL (Reuters) – President Hamid Karzai defended Afghanistan’s disputed presidential election yesterday after preliminary results showed he won, and a suicide bomb attack on Italian troops tested the resolve of a major NATO ally.
Sixteen people, including six Italian soldiers, died in the attack on an Italian military convoy within walking distance of the presidential palace in the capital Kabul, minutes after Karzai held a news conference there.
It was his first meeting with reporters since the Aug. 20 election and he praised Afghans for braving violence to vote.
The strike, the deadliest on Italian forces in Afghanistan, caused shock back home as European leaders scramble to bolster flagging support for the eight-year-old war.
The United States and its NATO allies have more than 100,000 troops in Afghanistan to bolster the government in its fight against Taliban insurgents and prevent the country being used as a base for militant attacks abroad.
The disputed election has further eroded public backing among NATO allies for the war effort, at a time when US President Barack Obama is considering whether to send more troops and European allies are debating whether to quit.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Italy planned a “strong reduction” in its 3,100 troops in the wake of the election, but would not unilaterally withdraw.
“We are all anxious and hopeful to bring our boys home as soon as possible,” Berlusconi told reporters on arrival in Brussels, where he was due to attend an EU summit.
Italy’s contingent had been increased by 500 ahead of the Afghan elections and these troops could be brought home “in the coming days or weeks”, in consultation with Italy’s allies.
Complete preliminary results released on Wednesday showed Karzai winning the election in a single round with 54.6 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a run-off against his main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.
The definitive result could take weeks or months. A UN-backed watchdog has ordered a recount of 10 percent of polling stations after finding “clear and convincing evidence of fraud.”
Karzai played down suggestions fraud could have been big enough to overturn the outcome and force a run-off.
“Like other elections of the world … there were problems and sensitivities in the Afghanistan elections, but it has not been to the extent which the media speak of,” he said.
“I believe firmly, firmly in the integrity of the election and the integrity of the Afghan people, and the integrity of the government in that process.”
Later, in an interview with CNN, Karzai blamed electoral fraud on security problems, adding: “I can assure you, the vote was true and fair.”
Western officials initially hailed the August vote, mainly because attacks by militant insurgents failed to prevent it from taking place. Their response has since become more equivocal.
An EU observer mission has said more than a third of Karzai’s votes might be suspect because of fraud. Karzai’s campaign has called those claims “irresponsible.”
Abdullah says fraud played a decisive role and needs to be removed in the complaints process for the result to be valid.
“A golden opportunity for Afghanistan has turned into a disastrous situation,” Abdullah told reporters, adding he was not interested in Karzai’s offers of a government post.
“My position is not to get a post from the government but to bring change. That will remain my agenda. I am not interested in a coalition government.”
Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility for the suicide strike in Kabul in a text message sent from a phone number used by a Taliban spokesman.
At the scene, Afghan troops ferried wounded civilians to ambulances near several wrecked Italian military vehicles.
