U.S. President Barack Obama has held consultations with the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry on efforts to prevent voter fraud in the country's upcoming presidential election.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said officials from Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) also took part in the one-hour video conference call with the president Thursday.
Gibbs said Mr. Obama examined the current political situation in Afghanistan, as part of his continuing assessment of whether to send more U.S. troops there. He said the discussions aimed "to fix what went wrong" in the country's August election, which was marred by voter fraud.
The problems led election officials to call for a runoff vote between President Hamid Karzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.
Gibbs said President Obama wants to ensure the November 7 vote is seen as legitimate by the Afghan people and the international community.