KABUL: Technocrats and some existing ministers will be appointed to Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s new government, a spokesman said on Wednesday, but his main rival branded his re-election illegal and ruled out taking any part. Karzai, who returned to power after a needless presidential run-off vote was abandoned on Monday, has received stern warnings from US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and others in the West that he must recruit credible figures to root out corruption that tainted his previous administration.

The run-off, triggered after widespread fraud marred the first round in August, was cancelled after Karzai’s only rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew citing serious concerns about the vote.

That decision came after weeks of political uncertainty, while Obama also weighs whether to send up to 40,000 more troops to fight a resurgent Taliban, who had threatened to disrupt the poll and branded Karzai’s return as a farce.

Karzai has committed himself to an inclusive government, but Abdullah ruled out taking any part despite pressure for a power-sharing deal.

“I have no interest in the future cabinet of Karzai’s government and I will pursue my agenda, which is change,” Abdullah told a news conference at his Kabul home.

Abdullah branded the government-appointed Independent Election Commission (IEC) decision to cancel the November 7 run-off as illegal and said Karzai would not be able to deliver on promises of reform.

“A government which is derived from such an illegal decision will not be able to deliver,” Abdullah said in his first public comments since the IEC’s decision, also urging his supporters to maintain peaceful opposition.

An Afghan policeman shot dead five British soldiers at a checkpoint in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the British Defense Ministry said, underlining security concerns and certain to fuel debate in Britain about its presence.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said six British troops and two Afghan police were also wounded. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the Taliban may have infiltrated the police.

The flawed electoral process and climbing death tolls have undermined support for the war in the United States, Britain and other Western countries with troops in Afghanistan. Western leaders say they expect Karzai to root out corruption and appoint more competent and credible figures to his new government.

“The government the president has in mind is one that will have special places for experts, educated and professional people,” Karzai spokesman Siyamak Herawi told Reuters.

“It will have new figures and some of the old ministers who have done well,” he said.

Herawi said Karzai would announce his new government within three weeks. Washington and others have expressed concern Karzai would give prominent places to regional chieftains and former guerrilla commanders who backed him in the election.

Ethnic chiefs and regional powerbrokers threw their weight behind Karzai in the weeks leading up to the poll, making it difficult for Abdullah to challenge him but at the same time opening Karzai to accusations that he would be in debt to warlords.

Karzai retains broad support among Pashtuns, Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group.

On Wednesday, dancing supporters took to Kabul streets, chanting his name, banging drums and playing native flutes.

Obama and European leaders have backed Karzai but have also said he must work harder on good governance, respect for human rights, economic development, battling the drug trade and training Afghan security forces so that foreign troops can leave.

“Given what the international community is emphasizing on the eradication of drugs and corruption, all these issues will be taken into consideration,” Herawi said.

Afghanistan is the world’s leading producer of opium, which is used to make heroin, a trade that helps fund the Taliban-led insurgency.