Sacked US diplomat claims UN tried to gag him on Afghan vote fraudOctober 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Peter Galbraith, the American diplomat fired from his senior United Nations post for quarrelling with his superior, claims he was told to keep quiet about fraud during the Afghan election. The former deputy to UN special envoy Kai Eide, told the Washington Post that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's final instruction before firing him last week was: "Do not talk".
Afghan body to recount ballots from 10 percent polling centresSeptember 15th, 2009 KABUL - Election authorities said Tuesday they would recount ballots from around 10 percent of the polling stations in last month's presidential vote due to indications of fraud. The UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) ordered the recount after receiving more than 2,000 complaints of fraud, with hundreds of them said to be serious enough to affect the outcome.
Afghan election commission favours Karzai, says AbdullahSeptember 10th, 2009 KABUL - Abdullah Abdullah, the main challenger to President Hamid Karzai in the Afghan presidential election, Thursday accused the country's election commission of corruption and bias towards the incumbent. In an interview with the BBC, the former foreign minister accused Karzai of fraud, saying the election was stolen from the Afghan people.
US in delicate spot over Afghan vote fraud claims: NYTSeptember 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Though Obama administration officials are reluctant to confirm that there has been wholesale fraud in the presidential elections in Afghanistan, they have recognised that with President Hamid Karzai getting a slim majority, that they will have to keep dealing with him for another five years. While there are clearly numerous egregious instances of fraud or vote-rigging, these officials said, it would take further investigation to judge whether, as one put it, "this whole thing is rotten, top to bottom."
According to the New York Times, their caution reflects the fact that while the initial vote-counting has reached its conclusion, the Electoral Complaints Commission, an Afghan and international panel that will certify the final count, is still in the early stages of an investigation that could take several weeks.
UN, US urge Afghan government to probe alleged poll fraudSeptember 8th, 2009 KABUL - The US and the UN have increased their pressure on the Afghan government to allow a thorough review of the Aug 20 presidential election following mounting allegations of vote rigging, diplomats and news reports said Tuesday. A Western diplomat told DPA that Western missions in Afghanistan have been growing very concerned over the widespread fraud allegations and were trying to convince President Hamid Karzai not to interfere in investigations of complaints by the Independent Election Commission.
Karzai edging closer to victory in Afghan electionSeptember 6th, 2009 KABUL - With some three quarters of vote counted, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has edged closer to the absolute majority needed to avoid a run off with his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah, the country's Independent Election Commission (IEC) said Sunday. Karzai has received 48.6 percent of votes from nearly 75 percent of polling stations tallied by Sunday, Daoud Ali Najafi, head of the IEC told a news conference.
Karzai's vote shrinks, but he still leads in Afghan electionAugust 31st, 2009 KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai's share of the vote in the hotly disputed Aug 20 presidential election shrank to 45.9 percent Monday, but still ahead of his nearest challenger by more than 12 percent, according to official figures. Figures posted on the Independent Election Commission's website showed that former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah garnered 33.3 percent of vote with ballots tallied from 47.8 percent of polling centres in the country.
Taliban claim successful sabotage of Afghan presidential voteAugust 29th, 2009 KABUL - Taliban fighters say they have successfully sabotaged the Afghanistan presidential voting process without sending in a single suicide bomber. A Globe and Mail report says that their claim that the mere threat of violence suppressed turnout enough to cast doubt on the credibility of the vote, which is being increasingly undermined by allegations of fraud.
Pak clerics say suicide bombings against teachings of IslamAugust 4th, 2009 LAHORE - The desecration of mosques, imambargahs and other places of worship and the killing of innocent people through suicide attacks and remote-controlled bombs is against Islam, humanity and Pakistan, clerics from all schools of thought have said. Under the auspices of the Ittehad Tanzimat-e-Madaris Pakistan (ITMP), they issued this joint declaration on Monday in a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif at the secretariat.
British National Archives finds rare copy of the Declaration of Independence hidden in a fileJuly 2nd, 2009 Rare copy of Declaration of Independence foundLONDON — British researchers have announced the discovery of a rare original copy of America's Declaration of Independence — just in time for the Fourth of July. Katrina McClintock, a spokeswoman at the National Archives, said Thursday that a researcher accidentally discovered the "Dunlap print," named after a printer, several months ago.
Russia opposes Iran sanction over protest crackdownJuly 2nd, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia is opposed to sanctions against Iran over the recent crackdown on protest rallies following the disputed presidential election, the foreign ministry said Thursday. Russia, which has consistently supported Iran in international disputes, was one of the first countries to congratulate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his re-election.
'US, Israel behind Iran's post-election fiasco'June 29th, 2009 TEHRAN - The United States and Israel, the two main foes of Iran, were behind the post-election protests and violence in the Islamic country, a senior minister has alleged. "I announce that no organised rigging which could affect the result of the election has taken place," Intelligence Minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei said in an interview with IRIB's Channel Two Sunday night.
Khamenei says vote was definitive victory, blames enemies of Iran for turmoilJune 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today said that the recent presidential elections showed off the country's religious democracy for the world to see, shrugging an unprecedented challenge to the country's ruling clerics by opposition supporters, who claim the June 12 presidential election was rigged. He said on Friday that there was "definitive victory" and no rigging in the disputed presidential elections, offering no concession to protesters demanding the vote be canceled and held again.
Obama 'deeply troubled' about Iran post-poll uprisingJune 16th, 2009 Washington, June 16 (ANI): US President Barack Obama has said that he is "deeply troubled" by the latest violent developments taking place in Iran post-elections. Fox News quoted Obama as saying on Monday that Iranian voters have a right to feel their ballots mattered and urged the investigation into vote-rigging allegations to go forward without additional violence.
Iran Council orders election recountJune 16th, 2009 TEHRAN - Iran's Council of Guardians has said it is ready to recount votes from last week's disputed election in the wake of clashes and mass protests which have led to the deaths of at least seven people. n a statement released through state media the council, a powerful committee of 12 clerics, said the move may lead to changes in candidates' tally.
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