Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai says he now accepts his country's presidential election should be postponed until August.
However, he says he will not step down when his term of office ends in May.
According to the constitution, the election should be held by April, but the country's Independent Electoral Commission says it must be delayed because of security and logistical problems.
Although Mr Karzai said he wants to respect the constitution, which states his term ends on May 21, after elections are held, the electoral commission says polls cannot be held until August 20 because they could not be organised during the winter and extra security forces cannot be in place until then.
Mr Karzai said he accepted the commission's decision.
Opposition leaders have demanded that an interim leader replace Mr Karzai between May and August, saying his government will not be legitimate after May 21 when his term ends. But Mr Karzai said the constitution made no reference to this and as long as there was no election, "the president will stay in office".
