(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - August 29, 2009: Afghan President Hamid Karzai angrily accused the United States of pushing for a runoff in the Afghan presidential election during a heated meeting with the special envoy to the region, officials familiar with the encounter said on Friday. 
Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks with Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, during a meeting at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The reported exchange was another sign of strains between the US and Afghan authorities. An Afghan lawmaker accused the US of violating international and Islamic law by firing on a clinic where a wounded Taliban commander had taken refuge. US officials said they attacked only after taking gunfire and determining there were no civilians inside.
The verbal exchange occurred the day after the August 20 election during a meeting in Kabul between Karzai and US special envoy to the region Richard Holbrooke, said two officials.
They said Karzai assured Holbrooke that he would accept the poll results, but bristled when the envoy asked if he would also agree to a runoff if none of the 36 candidates won over 50 per cent, officials said.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks with Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, during a meeting at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The reported exchange was another sign of strains between the US and Afghan authorities. An Afghan lawmaker accused the US of violating international and Islamic law by firing on a clinic where a wounded Taliban commander had taken refuge. US officials said they attacked only after taking gunfire and determining there were no civilians inside.
The verbal exchange occurred the day after the August 20 election during a meeting in Kabul between Karzai and US special envoy to the region Richard Holbrooke, said two officials.
They said Karzai assured Holbrooke that he would accept the poll results, but bristled when the envoy asked if he would also agree to a runoff if none of the 36 candidates won over 50 per cent, officials said. An angry Karzai accused the US of pushing the idea of a second round even before all the votes had been counted and he would accept the Election Commission’s tabulation as long as they reflected the facts.
The US Embassy confirmed the August 21 meeting and said the two discussed the election but would not go into details.
“There was no shouting and no one stormed out,” said Caitlin Hayden, an embassy spokeswoman. She noted that Holbrooke and Karzai met again a few days later.
“Whether there is a runoff is an issue for the Afghan electoral bodies to determine,” she added. Karzai’s office also confirmed the meeting but gave no further details.
“We are not discussing the contents of discussions that take place between the Afghan President and a foreign representative,” said spokesman for Hamid Karzai Humayun Hamidzada.
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