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| Front-Runner in Afghan Election Secures a Key Ally | Front-Runner in Afghan Election Secures a Key Ally |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| KABUL, Afghanistan — Abdullah Abdullah, the front-runner in Afghanistan’s presidential election campaign, announced Sunday that he had won the endorsement of Zalmay Rassoul, the third-place candidate, as part of his effort to gather enough support to win in the next round of voting. | KABUL, Afghanistan — Abdullah Abdullah, the front-runner in Afghanistan’s presidential election campaign, announced Sunday that he had won the endorsement of Zalmay Rassoul, the third-place candidate, as part of his effort to gather enough support to win in the next round of voting. |
| Together the two men’s tickets took about 56 percent of the vote in the first round of voting on April 5, but there is no guarantee that voters would vote the same way in a second round, tentatively set for June 14. | |
| Adding to the prospect that Mr. Rassoul may not bring all his first-round votes with him is that his team appears to have split, with one of his two vice-presidential running mates declining to support Mr. Abdullah’s campaign. | Adding to the prospect that Mr. Rassoul may not bring all his first-round votes with him is that his team appears to have split, with one of his two vice-presidential running mates declining to support Mr. Abdullah’s campaign. |
| Mr. Abdullah’s camp and some analysts worry that a runoff could be rife with fraud and that there is a considerable risk that it could be disrupted by the Taliban. The insurgents’ campaign of violence failed to have much impact in the first round, but the Taliban could redouble their efforts to intimidate voters in a runoff. | Mr. Abdullah’s camp and some analysts worry that a runoff could be rife with fraud and that there is a considerable risk that it could be disrupted by the Taliban. The insurgents’ campaign of violence failed to have much impact in the first round, but the Taliban could redouble their efforts to intimidate voters in a runoff. |
| Mr. Abdullah won nearly 45 percent of the vote in the first round, followed by Ashraf Ghani with nearly 31.5 percent and Mr. Rassoul with 11 percent, according to the most recent count by the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan. The final results for the first round are expected later this week, according to the election commission. | |
| Mr. Ghani has repeatedly said that there needed to be a runoff as mandated by the Constitution. Some commentators believe that a second round of voting would split along more ethnic lines, which could benefit Mr. Ghani, a Pashtun, since Pashtuns represent a plurality of the population. Mr. Abdullah is most closely associated with the Tajik ethnic group and the former Northern Alliance of commanders that helped overthrow the Taliban in 2001. | Mr. Ghani has repeatedly said that there needed to be a runoff as mandated by the Constitution. Some commentators believe that a second round of voting would split along more ethnic lines, which could benefit Mr. Ghani, a Pashtun, since Pashtuns represent a plurality of the population. Mr. Abdullah is most closely associated with the Tajik ethnic group and the former Northern Alliance of commanders that helped overthrow the Taliban in 2001. |
| Mr. Ghani, too, is scrambling for endorsements, suggesting a new and tougher chapter in the election saga. | Mr. Ghani, too, is scrambling for endorsements, suggesting a new and tougher chapter in the election saga. |
| Among those Mr. Ghani is wooing is one of Mr. Rassoul’s vice-presidential candidates, Ahmad Zia Massoud, said a spokesman for the Ghani campaign, Abdul Ali Mohammedi. Mr. Massoud is a Tajik politician and the brother of the legendary Northern Alliance commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, and his presence in Mr. Ghani’s campaign could nibble away at Mr. Abdullah’s support. | Among those Mr. Ghani is wooing is one of Mr. Rassoul’s vice-presidential candidates, Ahmad Zia Massoud, said a spokesman for the Ghani campaign, Abdul Ali Mohammedi. Mr. Massoud is a Tajik politician and the brother of the legendary Northern Alliance commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, and his presence in Mr. Ghani’s campaign could nibble away at Mr. Abdullah’s support. |
| How the next round of voting goes will depend on many factors, including the possibility that fewer people may vote in a second round, especially if there is increased violence, which could affect the vote in insecure rural areas that are predominantly Pashtun. As well, the populous and mostly Pashtun province of Kandahar could go either way, with influential figures there not yet having publicly declared support for a candidate. | How the next round of voting goes will depend on many factors, including the possibility that fewer people may vote in a second round, especially if there is increased violence, which could affect the vote in insecure rural areas that are predominantly Pashtun. As well, the populous and mostly Pashtun province of Kandahar could go either way, with influential figures there not yet having publicly declared support for a candidate. |
| In an announcement to a packed news conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Mr. Rassoul described Mr. Abdullah as “a good colleague” whom he had known for a long time and worked well with, adding that “our commitment to the people of Afghanistan is to avoid the ethnic rift.” | In an announcement to a packed news conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Mr. Rassoul described Mr. Abdullah as “a good colleague” whom he had known for a long time and worked well with, adding that “our commitment to the people of Afghanistan is to avoid the ethnic rift.” |
| Although President Hamid Karzai was careful not to endorse anyone and kept a low public profile during the campaign, Mr. Rassoul was believed to be his favored candidate. | Although President Hamid Karzai was careful not to endorse anyone and kept a low public profile during the campaign, Mr. Rassoul was believed to be his favored candidate. |
| Wearing a traditional shalwar kameez, Mr. Abdullah spoke fervently to the crowd, praising the first round of voting and urging them to back him. | Wearing a traditional shalwar kameez, Mr. Abdullah spoke fervently to the crowd, praising the first round of voting and urging them to back him. |
| “We campaigned in a warm environment, and today we hug each other in a warm environment,” he said. “This is our joint commitment, and we are moving forward together to the point of victory or to the point of final results — either in the first round, Inshallah,” — God willing — “or the second round.” | “We campaigned in a warm environment, and today we hug each other in a warm environment,” he said. “This is our joint commitment, and we are moving forward together to the point of victory or to the point of final results — either in the first round, Inshallah,” — God willing — “or the second round.” |
| The outcome of the first round surprised many Afghans because Mr. Abdullah received votes from across the country, even in heavily Pashtun areas. Over all, the election garnered more interest from voters than the last presidential contest in 2009, with 50 percent more votes cast, and it was viewed as generally less fraud-ridden. | The outcome of the first round surprised many Afghans because Mr. Abdullah received votes from across the country, even in heavily Pashtun areas. Over all, the election garnered more interest from voters than the last presidential contest in 2009, with 50 percent more votes cast, and it was viewed as generally less fraud-ridden. |
| The argument by Mr. Abdullah’s backers is that with Mr. Rassoul’s support they have 55 percent of the votes cast nationwide, well above the 50 percent threshold required by the Constitution — so there is no need for a runoff. | The argument by Mr. Abdullah’s backers is that with Mr. Rassoul’s support they have 55 percent of the votes cast nationwide, well above the 50 percent threshold required by the Constitution — so there is no need for a runoff. |
| Mr. Abdullah’s team also won the endorsement of another candidate, Gul Agha Shirzai, a former provincial governor who won just 1.6 percent of the vote. However, the Afghan Constitution specifically requires a runoff between the two top vote-getters, not between coalitions the candidates formed afterward. | Mr. Abdullah’s team also won the endorsement of another candidate, Gul Agha Shirzai, a former provincial governor who won just 1.6 percent of the vote. However, the Afghan Constitution specifically requires a runoff between the two top vote-getters, not between coalitions the candidates formed afterward. |
| As news broke of Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Rassoul’s alliance, a suicide bomber attacked an Afghan security forces convoy near a clinic on the road to the main southern military base in Kandahar, killing five civilians, including a child, and injuring 39 people, according to Zia Durani, the provincial police chief. A NATO convoy was nearby delivering aid packets but was not affected by the blast, he said. | As news broke of Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Rassoul’s alliance, a suicide bomber attacked an Afghan security forces convoy near a clinic on the road to the main southern military base in Kandahar, killing five civilians, including a child, and injuring 39 people, according to Zia Durani, the provincial police chief. A NATO convoy was nearby delivering aid packets but was not affected by the blast, he said. |