WASHINGTON AP – The Obama administration on Tuesday welcomed Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s agreement to a second round vote after a U.N. commission, citing fraud or coercion, threw out nearly a third of the ballots cast for him in the Aug. 20 election.

Karzai, who was under heavy U.S. pressure to accept the U.N. findings, was “ensuring a credible process for the Afghan people which results in a government that reflects their will,” President Barack Obama said in a statement.