Brussels, 03/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - Following the surprise withdrawal of Abdullah Abdullah from the race to be president and the cancellation of the second round of voting in the presidential election, scheduled for 7 November, outgoing President (and only candidate in the running) Hamid Karzai has been declared the winner and confirmed as president for a second term of office. In a statement issued by the Swedish Presidency on Tuesday 3 November, the EU “welcomes the conclusion of the presidential electoral process” and congratulates President Hamid Karzai on his election for a second term of office. The EU also calls for a “credible and competent government promoting national unity” to be formed “without delay”. The re-elected president must now implement a programme to improve governance and security and to tackle corruption, the EU says. The European Union is ready to work with the new president and the government on the basis of the action plan that was approved by the European Council last week. The European Union also stresses the need to use lessons learned from this election in reviewing and improving the electoral process before the next elections. (H.B./transl.rt)