Runoff scrapped,Karzai declared President

Chairman of Afghanistans Independent Election Commission Azizullah Ludin said the Constitution did not require a runoff and the second-round vote had been canceled after Abdullahs decision to drop out of the race.

Listing the commissions reasons for cancelling the vote,Ludin said the electoral body wanted to spare Afghans the high costs and security risks of a fresh round of balloting.

Karzai and the election commission had been under intense pressure from Afghanistans international backers,including the US,to cancel the second round because of security perils and worries about a potential repetition of the vote-rigging that marred the first round.

At a news conference,Ludin said Karzai had won the majority of votes in the first round and was the only candidate in the second round. Ludin said,Karzai was declared the elected President of Afghanistan.

Officials from the US and UN welcomed the decision and congratulated Karzai. We congratulate President Karzai on his victory in this historic election, said a statement from the US Embassy in Kabul,and look forward to working with him,his new administration,the Afghan people and our partners in the international community to support Afghanistans progress towards institutional reforms,security and prosperity.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon,who arrived in Kabul on Monday,said the election process had been difficult,and urged Karzai to form a government that would have the support of Afghanis and the international community.

Earlier on Monday,Ban met both Karzai and Abdullah to assure them and the Afghan people of the continuing support of the UN towards the development of the country and the humanitarian assistance that the UN provides to millions of Afghans every day,a UN statement said.

Advisers to Barack Obama called Abdullahs decision a personal choice that would not greatly affect American policy.

Every poll that had been taken there suggested that he was likely to be defeated anyway,so we are going to deal with the government that is there, David Axelrod,a senior adviser to Obama,said of Abdullah on Face the Nation on CBS.

The Obama administration prepared a united front around a leader whom many senior American officials have harshly criticised as being corrupt and ineffective in fighting the Taliban insurgency.

Administration officials sought to focus on security questions rather than governance and political stability,emphasising that the chief American goal now in Afghanistan was to make sure that al-Qaeda would not re-establish bases there.

Obviously,there are issues we need to discuss,such as reducing the high level of corruption, Axelrod said.

Abdullah rejected any suggestion of joining Karzais government.