US urges fairness in Afghan election

The US has urged the Afghan government to ensure the legitimacy of next weekend's runoff election. The call to step up scrutiny follows Abdullah's withdrawal from the presidential race.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed in a statement Afghanistan's constitution must underpin the upcoming election. She also pledged the US would support Afghanistan's next president.

Clinton urged Abdullah Abdullah to remain engaged in national dialogue and work on behalf of the security and prosperity of the people.

Earlier on Sunday, senior White House advisers said Abdullah's withdrawal from the election would not complicate President Obama's evolving war plan.

Valerie Jarrett, White House adviser, said, "We watch the election very carefully and we are going to work with the leader of the Afghan government and hopefully that is going to improve the state of the conditions for the people in Afghan (sic) and also help us as we try to bring this war to a close."

David Axelrod, White House Advisor, said, "I expect the President will make a decision within weeks. As you know he has gone through a very rigorous process, because the goal here is not just to make an arithmetic judgement about the number of troops, but to make sure we have the right strategy to reach our goal and our goal is to protect the American people from Al Qaida."

The Obama Administration is weighing up its strategy in Afghanistan. It must decide whether to send tens of thousands additional troops to the war-torn country. The Taliban has vowed to disrupt the runoff election.