Breaking Afghanistan News: It's President Karzai Again

The Latest from Afghanistan: The Election

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We should never say, "Told you so", but....

After 24 hours of bits and pieces on the Afghanistan election, with  international bodies trying to put together a general picture of a satisfactory election amidst an estimated turnout of 40-50 percent and a steady drip of stories of electoral manipulation and fraud, the smoke (white? black? grey?) in favour of Afghanistan's current President is seen:

President Hamid Karzai is cruising toward a first-round victory in Afghanistan's presidential election, tallying 71 percent of the 4.5 million votes counted so far, knowledgeable sources revealed on Saturday.

As of 4pm today, one source confided to Pajhwok Afghan News, more than 4.5 million ballots had been calculated hitherto. Of the 4,514,084 votes counted thus far, the incumbent has collected 3,244,196.

Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, main challenger to Karzai, bagged about a million votes, some 23 percent of the total calculated so far, the sources said. To be specific, he added, 1,029,467 votes went to the former foreign minister.

Ramazan Bashardost got 189,653 votes, Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmedzai 47,954 and Mirwais Yasini 2714. Another two million votes remain to be tallied from remote areas where Karzai was overwhelmingly supported.

Even if Abdullah were to collect 50 percent of the remaining votes, he could not force Karzai into a second-round election....

The information was reported to Pajhwok by a high-level party official who is watching the vote count. It was confirmed by a source from Karzai's office, who is also watching the count.

Comments

[Fintan Dunne]

Abdullah accuses Karzai of 'rigging' Afghan vote

By JASON STRAZIUSO and HEIDI VOGT
Associated Press Writer Aug 22, 9:16 PM EDT

KABUL (AP) -- President Hamid Karzai's leading challenger accused him of using the Afghan state to "rig" this week's election and detailed allegations of cheating by government officials in an interview Saturday with The Associated Press.

Abdullah Abdullah, once Karzai's foreign minister, said he was in contact with other campaigns to explore the possibility of a coalition candidacy in case none of the 36 candidates won enough votes in last Thursday's ballot to avoid a runoff, probably in October.

The accusations, which Karzai's spokesman denied, are the most direct Abdullah has made against the incumbent in a contest that likely has weeks to go before a winner is proclaimed. Both Abdullah and Karzai claim they are in the lead based on reports from campaign pollwatchers monitoring the count.

Officials of Abdullah's campaign have alleged fraud in several southern provinces where the insurgency is strongest and Karzai had been expected to run strong.....

Read On: http://bit.ly/5JXRT

[Fintan Dunne]

Afghan commission: fraud filings could sway vote

By HEIDI VOGT and JASON STRAZIUSO (AP) Aug 23

KABUL — Charges of fraud in Afghanistan's presidential election are extensive enough that they could sway the final result, the commission investigating the complaints said Sunday.

The independent Electoral Complaints Commission has received 225 complaints since polls opened Thursday, including 35 allegations that are "material to the election results," said Grant Kippen, the head of the U.N.-backed body. The figures include complaints about both the presidential balloting and provincial council polls....

Read On: http://bit.ly/19eNdS