All Hail Hamid Karzai Legitimate President of Afghanistan.

We know that there is now a legitimate government in Afghanistan because western officials say Karzai is legitimate. Of course this is what Karzai was claiming before western officials kept twisting his arm until he agreed to a runoff. However, they could not force him to fire everyone that Abdullah AbdullahAbdullah Abdullah didn't trust so the runoff was sabotaged. Now the situation is back where Karzai wanted it in the first place. Again it was not Afghans but the UN no doubt at the urging of western officials who in only an hour got Karzai to do what he wanted to do anyway. Dutifully the Independent Election Commission declared him the winner a commission appointed by Karzai. No doubt there will be some horse trading in which Karzai is pushed to appoint the defeated candidate and others to their proper places as negotiated with the occupation authorities.

Afghanistan: West hails Hamid Karzai as 'legitimate' president
Hamid KarzaiHamid Karzai was declared the victor of Afganistan's bitterly fought presidential contest after a second round vote was cancelled by election officials.

By Ben Farmer in Kabul

British and American officials rushed to congratulate Mr Karzai as the country's "legitimate leader" as the international community tried to draw a line under months of paralysing political limbo following the Aug 20 vote which was mired in fraud.

But London and Washington also made clear that they expect him to make immediate moves towards bolstering the ranks of the armed forces, tackling corruption and giving the defeated opposition a role within his new government.

....Afghanistan: Hamid Karzai declared president The White House said there would be "hard conversations" ahead during the early weeks of Mr Karzai's second term, while Gordon BrownGordon Brown called on Mr Karzai to set out a "unifying" programme for Afghanistan.

After initially insisting that a run-off between Mr Karzai and his challenger Abdullah Abdullah be held on Nov 7, the Independent Election Commission announced it was no longer needed.

Dr Abdullah pulled out of the race on Sunday, telling a rally of supporters that it would be impossible to hold a free and fair second round in the face of state fraud.

Ban Ki-moonBan Ki-moon, United Nations secretary general, then made an unexpected visit to Kabul early on Monday and met both candidates. He called on the election officials to resolve the matter "as soon as possible" in a "politically sustainable way".

An hour later, the IEC said the vote had been cancelled to prevent insecurity and instability and added that Mr Karzai had won....

Dr Abdullah is yet to respond to the result as power-sharing negotiations between the two camps continued without a deal having been reached.

His supporters, including a former president, Burhanuddin Rabbani, have been haggling for ministerial posts in return for accepting Mr Karzai's win.

It is thought that while some of Dr Abdullah's supporters might be given positions in the administration, he is likely to receive a senior post outside of the government.

: "There's no way that Karzai can govern without the support of Abdullah."

Baryalai Arsalai, a former presidential candidate who pulled out of the race to join Dr Abdullah, said the decision did not make Mr Karzai the legitimate president.

He said: "He doesn't have the majority vote that's needed to become president. He still has a problem of legitimacy.

"When I see foreign countries congratulating him and welcoming him as legitimate president, they themselves are not recognising the principles of democracy."

.....

The announcement came in a day of rapid developments as diplomats and the United Nations lobbied to cancel the second round, saying a vote featuring only one candidate would waste resources and needlessly risk lives.