Top U.N. Official in Afghanistan Wants to Leave

KABUL -- A spokesman says the top United Nations official in Afghanistan has asked the U.N. secretary-general to start looking for his replacement.

U.N. spokesman Dan McNorton said Friday that Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide never intended to stay longer than two years as chief of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan. Eide's two-year contract expires in March and the spokesman says he's asked U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to start looking for a replacement.

Eide's tenure has been tarnished by allegations from his American deputy that he was not bullish enough in curbing fraud in the August presidential election. Eide denies the charge and told the Norwegian news agency NTB the criticism was not connected to his decision to step down.

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