Karzai confirms he will step down in 2014
February 06, 2013  08:44
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai confirmed today in Oslo that he plans to step down next year when his mandate expires. "The question of me staying as the president beyond 2014 is out of the question," Karzai said when reporters asked about recent speculation that he was keen to stay on. 

"Neither am I seeking a third term, nor does the constitution allow it. There will be an election and a new president will come," he said. Karzai was elected in 2004, and re-elected in 2009 in a vote marred by accusations of fraud. Afghanistan's next presidential election is scheduled for April 2014, just a few months before the end of NATO's mission.
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