The contest between Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun from the south, and Abdullah, whose support is rooted among non-Pashtun northerners, risks reviving Afghanistanís historically troublesome ethnic divide. Karzai welcomed the latest vote count in a statement posted on the presidential Web site today. He thanked the election commission for holding "fair" polls. The complaints commission ordered the election authority to recount ballots from any polling place where the turnout appeared to equal or exceed 100 percent. Recounts were also ordered for any polling place that received as many as 100 votes if any candidate got more than 95 percent of them. Initial inquiries, notably in Ghazni, Paktika and Kandahar provinces found evidence of fraud in a number of polling stations, the complaints commission said in the order, posted on its Web site. It said the condition of ballot papers and boxes, and polling officials' documents, showed that many ballots were illegally cast or "were not legally counted." The polling places where fraud was apparent had recorded votes "far in excess of what could be expected based on credible observer reports of low voter turnout," the commission said. Journalist James Rupert, head of Bloomberg's international bureau in Islamabad, Pakistan began his career abroad as a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching mechanics and welding in Morocco.
James Rupert writes: U.S. urges Afghan vote vetting as fraud claims jump
U.S. urges Afghan vote vetting as fraud claims jump
By James Rupert
Bloomberg News
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.09.2009
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The U.S. is urging Afghan authorities to address mounting allegations of fraud in the election that President Hamid Karzai is set to win.
"The results of these elections need to be credible and need to reflect the will of the Afghan people," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters in Washington yesterday. "We need to have a rigorous vetting of all of these allegations of fraud."
Afghanistan's UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission yesterday ordered a partial recount for polling stations that reported 100 percent turnout or where at least 95 percent of votes were cast for a single candidate. The Obama administration is counting on the election to produce a credible government that can support the joint battle against Taliban guerrillas.
"A legitimate electoral process is vital to us and vital to any kind of partnership that we would have with the government going forward," Kelly said.
The recount order was issued hours before the nation's election authority announced new results showing Karzai surpassing the required majority for victory. With 91.6 percent of polling stations tallied, the official count shows Karzai with 54.1 percent of the vote to 28.3 percent for his main rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.
Evidence of Fraud
The complaints commission said it found ìclear and convincing evidence of fraud,î the first confirmation of allegations that independent election monitors say risk undermining the outcome of the vote and the next government.
Abdullah has released photos and videos that he says show Karzai's backers stuffing ballot boxes in southern Afghanistan, where violence by Taliban guerrillas kept turnout low. If fraudulent votes are removed, Karzai will get 30 percent of votes at most, less than the majority needed for him to avoid a runoff, Abdullah said in an interview with the Polish daily Rzeczpospolita.
The decision to recount some votes means "there's a chance we'll have a second round" of voting, Abdullah said. For that, "I expect a far bigger turnout, because Afghans are regaining the belief that the elections could be above board."
Karzai's campaign has denied any role in vote fraud. Campaign spokesman Wahid Omar could not immediately be reached following the recount order.
The Independent Election Commission said on its Web site that its official vote tally is "subject to challenge in accordance with the law prior to final certification."
Ethnic Divide
The contest between Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun from the south, and Abdullah, whose support is rooted among non-Pashtun northerners, risks reviving Afghanistanís historically troublesome ethnic divide.
Karzai welcomed the latest vote count in a statement posted on the presidential Web site today. He thanked the election commission for holding "fair" polls.
The complaints commission ordered the election authority to recount ballots from any polling place where the turnout appeared to equal or exceed 100 percent. Recounts were also ordered for any polling place that received as many as 100 votes if any candidate got more than 95 percent of them.
Initial inquiries, notably in Ghazni, Paktika and Kandahar provinces found evidence of fraud in a number of polling stations, the complaints commission said in the order, posted on its Web site. It said the condition of ballot papers and boxes, and polling officials' documents, showed that many ballots were illegally cast or "were not legally counted."
The polling places where fraud was apparent had recorded votes "far in excess of what could be expected based on credible observer reports of low voter turnout," the commission said.
Further Investigation
The recount of suspect votes will take place with independent election observers, candidates' agents and investigators of the complaints commission watching, the order said. It will permit further investigation of the ballots, which may then be excluded from the vote count, the commission said.
The order was signed by the complaints commission's chairman, Grant Kippen, a Canadian elections specialist appointed by the United Nations to help ensure a credible vote result. The chief UN official in Afghanistan, Special Representative Kai Eide, urged election authorities to exclude from the vote count "results from ballot boxes where there is evidence of irregularities."
