Afghan opposition presidential candidates on Wednesday threatened to boycott the first-ever presidential election if the serving President Hamid Karzai continues to stay in power.

"The law of the land requires Mr. Karzai to resign ahead of elections if he desires to contest the race," Abdul Sattar Sirat, former king Mohammad Zahir Shah's former spokesman, and also Karzai's arch rival in the race, told journalists here after a joint session of 16 out of 17 presidential candidates.

"All the 16 candidates challenging Karzai in the election were present in today's meeting and unanimously demand Karzai's resignation ahead of the presidential polls," he said.

The first direct and western-style presidential election in thepost-Taliban nation with the participation of 18 candidates will be held on Oct. 9.

"Karzai has to quit power within a week, otherwise we would consider boycotting the elections," the soft-spoken technocrat warned.

"The boycott of 17 candidates means the boycott of 20 million Afghans," he said.

He also proposed the formation of an interim administration to take over power from Karzai and facilitate the holding of free andfair elections.

Accusing Karzai of misusing government resources, he said the serving president was "illegally utilizing" his power to ensure his success in the upcoming elections.

He also termed the staff of the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) or election commission as king's men and called for their replacement with the consent of the presidential candidates.

This was the first meeting of Karzai's opponents since July 26 when presidential campaign formally began in the war-battered nation.

"It was our first meeting and we would continue to hold such meetings in future to chalk out our strategy vis-a-vis the unfolding situation in the elections," he told his fellow candidates.

Source: Xinhua