| Hamid Karzai was declared the winner of Afghanistan's landmark presidential election Wednesday, after investigators concluded that a string of irregularities were too minor to overturn his triumph. The country's joint U.N.-Afghan electoral board confirmed that the American-backed incumbent had clinched a five-year term as the country's first popularly chosen leader. "His excellency Hamid Karzai is the winner of the election," board chairman Zakim Shah said at a ceremony in the capital. "We are announcing the first elected president of Afghanistan." Shah said the Karzai won 55.4 percent support in the Oct. 9 election, 39 points clear of his closest challenger and enough to avoid a second round. |