The Times
Jerome Starkey in Kabul and Tom Coghlan

The man who stands between Hamid Karzai and a second term in office as President said yesterday he was ready for the run-off vote but demanded major changes to avoid the “widespread, massive fraud” that bedevilled the first round of voting.

Addressing the media in the garden of his Kabul home, Abdullah Abdullah — former eye surgeon, Mujahidin commander and Afghan Foreign Minister — cut a relaxed figure, in contrast to the strained appearance of Mr Karzai less than 24 hours earlier as he conceded that he had not won the outright majority needed to claim a first-round win.

Mr Karzai was flanked by the US Senator John Kerry, the head of the UN mission and three foreign ambassadors who had cajoled him to accept the rulings of the election fraud watchdog; Dr Abdullah, for his part, had two influential Afghan elders at his side. (Read more)