·Abdullah Abdullah announced Sunday he would not go for the run-off  election set on Nov. 7.

·It came after talks of forming coalition gov't between Karzai and Abdullah broke down Saturday.

·According to the constitution, it is possible for the run-off to be held with only one candidate.

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah speaks during a gathering with his supporters in Kabul November 1, 2009. Abdullah quit an election run-off on Sunday after accusing the government of not meeting his demands for a fair vote, but said he was not calling for a boycott.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    KABUL, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Afghan President's top challenger Abdullah Abdullah announced Sunday that he would not participate in the run-off presidential election set on Nov. 7.

Related

Afghanistan to have weak gov't if runoff goes with sole candidate: observers U.S. committed to support Afghanistan's fair election: Clinton  UN: We must realistically assess Afghan situation  Terror attacks in Kabul will not disrupt Afghan run-off: U.S.

    "It is unnecessary to participate in an election full of fraud," Abdullah told his supporters in a gathering in Kabul. "I made this decision for larger interest of the country and for strengthening democracy in the country."

    "This is a very tough decision," Abdullah said. "I took in a lot of consultation with our people before I made the decision."

    According to the constitution, it is possible for the run-off to be held with only one candidate, but that is believed to undermine the government's legitimacy.

    The announcement came after talks of forming coalition government between Karzai and Abdullah broke down on Saturday, local media reported.

    Abdullah put forward some conditions one week ago to ensure the credibility of the run-off, including replacing top election official and suspending three ministers. The first-round election was affected by widespread fraud, according to a UN report.

    The first-round election was held on Aug. 20, with preliminary results by Afghan election authority showing Karzai won 54.6 percent. However, a UN investigation on fraud pushed Karzai's total to below the 50 percent, which is needed to avoid a run-off.

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah answers questions from the international media at his house in Kabul November 1, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    U.S. President Barack Obama is weighing his strategy on Afghanistan and considering whether to send tens of thousands additional troops to the war-torn country while Taliban has vowed to disrupt the run-off election.

Karzai's spokesman refuses challenger's demand to sack election body chief

    KABUL, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Afghan Presidential spokesman on Tuesday refused the demand of President Hamid Karzai's top challenger Abdullah Abdullah to sack election body's commissioner before going to runoff set for Nov. 7.

    "Any demand from Abdullah or anyone if goes against the law is unacceptable," Hamayon Hamidzada told a press briefing here. Full story

Afghan media calls for revamping election body 

    KABUL, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- An Afghan newspaper in its editorial on Saturday lashed at the country's election body over what it termed involvement in fraud and called for its revamp.

    "The people of Afghanistan have no more trust in the election commission and so they want a new body to manage and look after the election and at least a new body to enjoy the trust of both candidates," daily 8Subh emphasized. Full story 

Karzai's top challenger not to make coalition gov't

    KABUL, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- President Hamid Karzai's top challenger Abdullah Abdullah has refused to make any coalition administration, his spokesman Fazil Sangcharaki said on Tuesday.

    "Our priority is to go for second round. We are utterly against making coalition government and this is against the will of people who voted for the presidential election," Sangcharaki told Xinhua. Full story