Afghan president says all welcome in his government

KABUL -- Afghanistan's president says he wants people from "all parts of the country" in his government.

President Hamid Karzai told reporters today that he will welcome anyone from the opposition into his government and will institute reforms to stamp out corruption.

Yesterday, he won a drawn-out election by default following a first-round vote that was marred by fraud. Election officials proclaimed Karzai the winner of the runoff after his only challenger dropped out saying that the election could not be free or fair.

Karzai said he wants a "national participation government."

His former challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, has said he will not join Karzai, but the two have been negotiating privately about ministry seats or accommodating Abdullah's platform in some way.

-- The Associated Press