UN Afghan envoy denies allegations he didn't do enough to investigate election fraudOctober 8th, 2009 UN envoy denies claims over Afghan election fraudKABUL — The U.N.'s top envoy in Afghanistan denied allegations he did not do enough to prevent or investigate fraud in the country's presidential vote, saying Thursday the charges are a distraction from the task of settling the still-undecided vote. Kai Eide's former deputy, Peter Galbraith, was fired last week in wake of a dispute with his boss over how to deal with fraud charges in the Aug.
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".
Abdullah questions UN role in Afghan presidential electionOctober 4th, 2009 LONDON - Afghanistan's incumbent President Hamid Karzai's main opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, has called for an inquiry into the United Nations role since the August poll. The UN along with the Afghan authorities is responsible for the presidential election's smooth running and investigating claims of fraud.
Afghan fraud investigators to recount only a sample of suspect ballots to speed processSeptember 21st, 2009 Afghan fraud panel to use sampling in recountsKABUL — The U.N.-backed panel investigating fraud in Afghanistan's presidential vote has agreed to allow a recount of just a sampling of hundreds of thousands of suspect ballots to speed a process some fear could stretch into spring, an official said Monday. Preliminary results from the Aug.
EU renews call for Afghan vote fraud probeSeptember 10th, 2009 STOCKHOLM - The European Union Thursday said it backed a complete investigation into "allegations of fraud" in connection with the recent presidential elections in Afghanistan. The EU said it supported the work by the UN-backed Election Complaints Commission ECC to "safeguard the credibility of the elections," the statement issued by Sweden, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, said.
AP Interview: Abdullah says scale of fraud in Afghan election only now becoming clearSeptember 10th, 2009 Abdullah: Afghan vote "state-engineered" fraudKABUL — The top challenger to President Hamid Karzai told The Associated Press on Thursday that the scale of cheating in Afghanistan's Aug. 20 election is only now becoming clear, and that he expects enough fraudulent Karzai votes to be thrown out to trigger a runoff.
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.
Karzai has 54 pct in Afghan vote, passing threshold for outright victory, amid fraud claimsSeptember 8th, 2009 Karzai has 54 pct in Afghan of fraud-tainted voteKABUL — President Hamid Karzai surpassed for the first time the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a run-off in Afghanistan's presidential election, according to preliminary results released Tuesday, but with fraud allegations rising, a U.N.-backed commission ordered a re-count of tainted ballots. The chief electoral officer of the Afghan-run Independent Election Commission, Daoud Ali Najafi, said that recounting votes could take "two or three months," meaning the already over-extended election is likely far from over.
Karzai has 54 pct in Afghan vote, passing key threshold, but concerns grow over fraudSeptember 8th, 2009 Karzai has 54 pct of Afghan vote amid fraud claimsKABUL — President Hamid Karzai surpassed for the first time the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a run-off in Afghanistan's presidential election, according to preliminary results released Tuesday, but with fraud allegations rising, a U.N.-backed commission ordered a re-count of tainted ballots. The chief electoral officer of the Afghan-run Independent Election Commission, Daoud Ali Najafi, said that recounting votes could take "two or three months," meaning the already over-extended election is likely far from over.
Karzai creeps closer to 50 percent in Afghan vote; Abdullah far behind at 30 percentSeptember 6th, 2009 Karzai edges closer to 50 percent in Afghan voteKABUL — President Hamid Karzai nudged closer to the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff in Afghanistan's election, according to the latest results released Sunday. The Aug. 20 ballot has been marred by accusations of vote-rigging and election officials said they threw out results from 447 out of more than 26,000 polling sites because of fraud allegations.
Karzai extends lead in Afghan vote, moves closer to 50 percent threshold, vote officials saySeptember 2nd, 2009 Karzai extends lead in Afghan election with 47 pctKABUL — Afghanistan's election commission says President Hamid Karzai is moving closer to the 50 percent threshold that would allow him to avoid a run-off in the country's presidential election. In results released Wednesday, Karzai has 47.3 percent of votes counted while top challenger Abdullah Abdullah has 32.6 percent.
Karzai keeps big lead in new Afghan vote results, though still short of 50 percent thresholdAugust 31st, 2009 Karzai keeps big lead in new Afghan vote resultsKABUL — Afghanistan's election commission says President Hamid Karzai still has a big lead with ballots now counted from almost half the country's voting stations. In the latest results released Monday, Karzai has 45.8 percent of votes counted, while top challenger Abdullah Abdullah has 33.2 percent.
Karzai increases lead to 46 percent in Afghan vote countAugust 29th, 2009 Karzai increases lead to 46 pct in Afghan electionKABUL — President Hamid Karzai widened his lead in Afghanistan's presidential race as new vote tallies were released Saturday, inching closer to the 50 percent threshold of votes he needs to avoid a run-off. As Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission slowly releases partial results from the Aug.
Afghan candidates sound warning over election's credibility as partial results dueAugust 25th, 2009 Afghan candidates warn about election credibilityKABUL — Six Afghan presidential candidates, including one being floated as a potential "chief executive" for the next government, warned Tuesday that fraud allegations threaten to undermine the recent election and could stoke violence. The candidates' statement came hours ahead of the expected release of partial results from last Thursday's vote and followed a presidential spokesman's assurance that the government was prepared to respond to any post-election unrest.
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