Afghanistan is to hold a run off presidential election on November 7, it was announced Tuesday by RTA, as incumbent Hamid Karzai bowed to international pressure over claims of widespread vote fraud.

Karzai will face his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah in the second round after neither candidate secured more than 50 percent of the vote in the August elections, the Afghan Independent Election Commission said.

The announcement follows weeks of stalemate over the election with Karzai rejecting allegations of fraud to claim a vote majority, despite heavy criticism from key international allies in the country's fight against a Taliban insurgency.

"We welcome the decision made by the Independent Election Commission, we believe the session is legitimate, legal and according to the constitution of Afghanistan," Karzai told a news conference Tuesday.

"It's going to be a historic period that we all are waiting to go through."