阿富汗选举委员会命令在11月7日举行总统决选。此前，联合国支持的调查发现，在8月的选举中出现大范围的舞弊，卡尔扎伊总统并未以压倒性多数票当选。卡尔扎伊总统星期二同意跟得票第二多的前外交部长阿卜杜拉举行决选。阿富汗选举官员星期二宣布举行决选，之前联合国选举调查委员会宣布卡尔扎伊三分之一的得票因舞弊而作废，这样卡尔扎伊就失去避免决选的大幅领先的地位。
卡尔扎伊在喀布尔的一次记者上说，这次决选代表阿富汗朝着民主发展又前进了一步。他敦促阿富汗人民参加11月的投票，并呼吁国际社会帮助确保选民能安全投票。联合国秘书长潘基文说，联合国将尽全力确保决选投票能在可信和安全的环境下举行。但是他承认，未来的选举工作将是“巨大的挑战”。
美国总统奥巴马说，卡尔扎伊的行动是朝着确保一个可信的选举迈出了重要一步。
Afghanistan’s election commission has ordered a presidential runoff vote on November 7 after a U.N.-backed investigation found massive fraud in the August election, invalidating President Hamid Karzai’s outright victory.President Karzai on Tuesday agreed to the second-round election against his main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.Officials called for the run-off after a United Nations-backed panel investigating the disputed vote threw out one-third of Mr. Karzai’s ballots because of fraud, leaving him without a majority of votes needed to avoid a runoff.
Mr. Karzai told reporters during a news conference in Kabul the runoff represents a “step forward” toward democracy.He urged people to take part in the November vote and called on the international community to help ensure voters can safely cast their ballots.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the world body will do all it can to make sure the second-round vote is carried out in a credible and secure manner. But he conceded the task is going to be what he described as a “a huge challenge”.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Mr. Karzai’s action is an important step toward ensuring a credible election.