Karzai open to Afghan run-off: sources

By Sayed Salahuddin and Adam Entous

KABUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.N.-backed watchdog invalidated thousands of votes for President Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan's August election and Western sources said Karzai was expected on Tuesday to announce his willingness to accept a run-off.

The August 20 vote, marred by allegations of fraud, has fanned tension between Karzai and Western governments whose troops are fighting a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.

The allegations have complicated U.S. President Barack Obama's deliberations on whether to send thousands more U.S. troops to try to turn the tide in the eight-year war.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she expected word from Karzai on Tuesday and hoped for a quick solution.

"I am going to let him do that but I am encouraged at the direction that the situation is moving," Clinton told reporters. "I am very hopeful that we will see a resolution in line with the constitutional order in the next several days."

Western sources told Reuters that Karzai had indicated in private meetings this week, including with Senator John Kerry, he would be open to taking part in a run-off election with his man challenger Abdullah Abdullah but did not commit to a specific timetable.

But Western officials cautioned that Karzai could still change his mind and there was likely to be a period of intense political haggling.

Zalmay Khalilzad, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, said from his conversations with Karzai this week, the Afghan president was also open to a power-sharing deal with Abdullah.

"He wants to form a government in which Abdullah and some of his folks are included. The difference was the timing," said Khalilzad, who met both politicians during his visit to Kabul.

Abdullah, a former Afghan foreign minister, said he was ready to go to a second round and would discuss with Karzai what to do if a run-off proved impossible due to poor weather and bad security.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was expected to brief reporters on Afghanistan-related issues on Tuesday, the U.N. press office said.

KARZAI WIN IN SECOND ROUND?

Analysts and Western observers have long said Karzai would likely win a second round. Karzai is a Pashtun, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group and its traditional rulers.

The Obama administration said the world wanted Afghan leaders to show the electoral process was legitimate and it was obvious that allegations of fraud had to be investigated.

"None of this is going to work without credible partners," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.