"Karzai is highly likely to remain president for a second five-year term," James Auger and Jan Zalewski, analysts for London-based business intelligence and forecasting company IHS Global Insight, wrote in an e-mail. "The question is how legitimate his victory is perceived to be, and whether it is secured without the need for a runoff." 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: Afghan Election Panel Annuls Ballots From Karzai Strongholds
Afghan Election Panel Annuls Ballots From Karzai Strongholds
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By James Rupert
Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Afghanistan's UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission today invalidated voting from 83 polling places in political strongholds of President Hamid Karzai, and ordered further vote recounts over alleged ballot stuffing by Karzai's supporters in last month's elections.
The invalidated votes -- from the southern, ethnic Pashtun provinces of Kandahar, Ghazni, and Paktika -- will be too few to reduce Karzai's 1.4 million-vote lead enough to force him into a second round election against his main rival, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.
The commission said it is continuing its investigation into alleged fraud and it was unclear whether Karzai might ultimately be forced into a runoff.
The Obama administration has counted on the Aug. 20 vote to strengthen the political credibility of Afghanistan's government, and reinforce it as a partner for a stepped-up U.S. fight against Taliban insurgents.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said yesterday the U.S. is concerned by the complaints commission's finding this week of "clear and convincing evidence" of vote fraud. The U.S. wants Afghan authorities to "take these charges very seriously and deal with them in a way that people can have confidence" in the results, Kelly told reporters.
"Karzai is highly likely to remain president for a second five-year term," James Auger and Jan Zalewski, analysts for London-based business intelligence and forecasting company IHS Global Insight, wrote in an e-mail. "The question is how legitimate his victory is perceived to be, and whether it is secured without the need for a runoff."
Election Commission
Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission, which ran the polling and is counting the vote, said Sept. 8 that Karzai is on track to win the election outright, surpassing the required majority of 50 percent plus one vote. 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 Abdullah.
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. Karzai's campaign has denied any role in vote fraud.
-- With assistance from Ali Sheikholeslami in London. Editors: Peter Torday, John Deane
