KABUL, Oct 10 (AFP) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai Sunday angrily rejected a suggestion that problems with the presidential election meant that he would be reduced to "horse-trading" with his opponents.
"No horse trading," he snapped in reply to a question at a news conference. "If I'm elected no horse trading, no horse trading!
"The time for horse trading is over in Afghanistan. The people of Afghanistan came in millions to put an end to that."
Most opposition candidates, including powerful regional leaders and some who have large private militias, have condemned Saturday's election as fraudulent and illegitimate.
"I was very much pained when I heard yesterday of the boycott. This was the vote of the Afghan people. It's the first time in our history and after so much suffering the Afghan people went to vote in millions," Karzai said.
Claims of voting irregularities had tainted the jubilation among electors but the polls were hailed around the world for the strong turnout and lack of violence.
"A fairly democratic environment has generally been observed in the overall majority of the polling centres," the local Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan declared.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which contributed to the 230 foreign monitors, said Saturday's demand by 14 opposition candidates to nullify the landmark election was "unjustified".
Opposition candidates charge that the vote was flawed largely because special ink which was supposed to stain voters' fingers to prevent them voting twice could be washed off.
Some of the candidates took a softer stance Sunday, saying they would bow to the findings of an independent inquiry including the United Nations and their own representatives.
Karzai admitted mistakes had been made. "Those are mistakes made, I'm not going to make an issue of that. The elections commission should study that.
"I was disappointed that the ink was not strong, but that does not diminish the value that the Afghan people give to this day, to the election," he said.