Professor Ali Riaz

Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission says it has canceled the presidential runoff, originally scheduled for this Saturday. The announcement came a day after President Hamid Karzai's challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from the race. The Election Commission has also declared Hamid Karazai as the President of Afghanistan for a second term.

 Amidst this political backdrop, we spoke to Dr Ali Riaz , Professor and Chair Department of Government & Politics ,Illinois State University . Professor Ali Riaz thinks that President Hamid Karzai’s remaining in power for another term is likely to have a negative impact both internally as well as with regards to its relationship with the USA.

Professor Riaz says that it is not because allegedly Karzai government has been corrupt and inefficient but more importantly Hamid Karzai’s election has been very questionable. The fraud means taken in the election has already been detected by the UN Investigation team and that has seriously undermined the importance and credibility of Hamid Karzai. US will not feel comfortable to deal with a weaker government. He said that perhaps a power-sharing government with Abdullah Abdullah will be stronger and stable government.