KABUL -- Afghanistan's president says a runoff presidential election must be held as planned next month, despite talk of a power-sharing deal with his challenger to avoid a second vote.
President Hamid Karzai says the second round ballot "has to be held," otherwise "we'll be insulting democracy." He made the comment on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria - GPS" program, which aired Sunday.
The runoff was ordered after a U.N.-backed panel voided enough of Karzai's August votes that he fell below the 50 percent threshold for a first round victory. He now faces Abdullah Abdullah in a Nov. 7 runoff.
Some U.S. officials had hoped the two would reach a power-sharing deal to avoid a second vote.
Karzai acknowledged first round fraud but said the August vote "wasn't as bad" as claimed.
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