Hamid Karzai openly hints at running for second term to fulfil "goals"

Kabul - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai on Sunday for the first time openly hinted that he intended to run for a second term in order to fulfil his unfinished "goals".

Karzai, who was talking to a group of journalists in his fortified presidential palace, said that he was not happy to contest for the next presidential poll, but "the goals that I set some five to six years ago, I have fulfilled some them, but a big portion of that (goals) have yet to be finished."

"Every human being wishes to complete what one starts and does not want to leave things half way," Karzai said, adding, "I hope that the people of Afghanistan are happy with me and let me finish what I have started."

"If God wills it, I will complete them in a good way, if they vote for me," the president said.

This is the first time that Karzai, who was elected in Afghanistan's first-ever presidential polls in 2004, disclosed his intention for re-election.

Karzai's term would end in 2009 and the president said that he had already rejected a United Nations proposal to postpone the presidential elections by one year to 2010 for them be held at the same time as parliamentary elections in order to save expenditure.

He said that he wanted both polls to be held at their set times. (dpa)

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