Afghan election goes to run-off

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Karzai accepted the fraud panel finding and endorsed a runoff election.

The chairman of the Independent Election Commission, Azizullah Lodin, said the commission did not want to "leave the people of Afghanistan in uncertainty" any longer.

"The commission is agreed to go to a second round and say that nobody got more than 50%," Lodin said.

Afghan electoral law says a run-off is needed if no candidate gets above that percentage.

Lodin said all the materials are ready for the run-off.

Mr Karzai announced his acceptance of the findings at a press conference alongside US senator John Kerry and Kai Eide, the head of the UN mission in Afghanistan.

Mr Kerry said the agreement on a second round had transformed the crisis into a "moment of great opportunity" and that Mr Karzai "has shown genuine leadership in the decision he has made."

The possibility of a run-off emerged on Monday after a UN-backed panel threw out a third of Mr Karzai's votes from the August 20 ballot, pushing his totals below the 50% threshold needed for a first round victory and setting the stage for a run-off against former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

Another election risks the same fraud that derailed the August vote, along with inciting violence and increasing ethnic divisions. A November run-off could also be hampered by winter snows that block off much of the country starting mid-month.