Kabul, 2 Nov. (AKI) - Hamid Karzai has been declared the president of Afghanistan by poll officials, after they cancelled the planned second round of the vote. The Independent Election Commission announcement came a day after Karzai's only rival, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from the race.

Abdullah, a former foreign minister, had demanded the resignation of key poll officials and said he did not believe there would be a fair vote after the first round of voting was overshadowed by mass electoral fraud.

Azizullah Ludin, chairman of the Independent Election Commission, declared Karzai the winner at a media conference in Kabul on Monday.

"We declare Hamid Karzai, which got the majority of votes in the first round and (since) he is the only candidate for the second round... to be declared as elected president of Afghanistan," said a spokesman for the Independent Election Commission at a media conference on Monday.

He said the second round of voting on 7 November was being cancelled to save money and prevent further problems which could damage Afghanistan politically and economically.

Karzai had been the favourite to win the run-off after gaining more votes in the first round on 20 August.

One of the reasons for holding a second vote had been to try to restore some legitimacy to the election after the discredited first round.

United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon visited Kabul on Monday and said Afghanistan's troubled election had been among "the most difficult the United Nations has ever supported".