Blair heralds Afghan election victory

British Prime Minister Tony Blair today welcomed the election of President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and said it demonstrated the scale of the transformation of the country since the overthrow of the Taliban.

He also said the British government remained “in close touch” with the United Nations over the fate of their three kidnapped workers, including Annetta Flanigan of Northern Ireland.

The United Nations-supervised elections confirmed Mr Karzai as President today, after investigators found insufficient evidence of fraud or malpractice to declare the poll void.

Mr Blair said in a statement: “I welcome the announcement of the results of the recent presidential election in Afghanistan. I warmly congratulate the winner and newly-elected president Hamid Karzai.

“These elections represent a tremendous achievement for the Afghan people. The results bear witness to their desire to embrace democracy and take control of their destiny – over 80% of the electorate turned out, some 40% of those voting were women.

“I pay tribute to the Afghan people and others – particularly the Afghan authorities and the UN – who played a part in ensuring their success. We remain in close touch with the United Nations on the distressing abduction of the three UN officials.

“The high level of participation and peaceful conduct of the elections demonstrates the scale of the transformation that has already taken place in Afghanistan in the three years since the overthrow of the Taliban.

“We look forward to working with President Karzai and his new government as they tackle the challenges of building a stable and democratic future in that country.”