October 31, 2009 Clinton: Abdullah not affecting Afghan runoff

JERUSALEM (AP) - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Abdullah Abdullah's call for a boycott of next weekend's runoff election in Afghanistan will not affect the legitimacy of that runoff.

Clinton was asked Saturday at a news conference in Jerusalem about the presidential challenger's decision to not participate in the runoff.

She said that it his decision to make but said the runoff has already been legitimized.

When Afghan President Hamid Karzai accepted the runoff after the first election, she said, "that bestowed legitimacy from that moment forward."

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)