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NEWS ABOUT: Afghanistan election

Afghan Vote's True Winner: The Taliban

Chaos and corruption aid insurgents' propaganda campaign

(Newser) - It's still not evident whether Hamid Karzai will avoid a runoff in Afghanistan's presidential vote, but the winner of the election is clear: the Taliban. Delays in tallying and alleged systemic fraud have given the insurgency new material for a sophisticated propaganda campaign that portrays the Karzai administration as corrupt... More »

Karzai Working on Deals With Challengers

Power-sharing agreement may be in the works

(Newser) - The Afghanistan election has turned into such a mess that President Hamid Karzai is discussing some kind of partnership with at least two of his challengers, the Wall Street Journal reports. His camp and that of top challenger Abdullah Abdullah are talking through third parties, while Karzai also has reached... More »

Recounts Ordered at 2,500 Afghan Voting Sites

Total could drop Karzai low enough to require a run-off

(AP) - A UN-backed monitoring body ordered Afghanistan's election commission to recount ballots from about 10% of the country's polling stations because of suspicious totals in last month's presidential vote, the AP reports. The recount order raises the possibility that President Hamid Karzai's lead could drop below the 50% threshold, forcing the... More »

Afghans Stock Up on Guns After Disputed Election

Political turmoil sends 'Kalashnikov Index' soaring

(Newser) - The price of a smuggled Kalashnikov assault rifle in Afghanistan has more than doubled in recent weeks amid rising political turbulence, Time reports. Last month's election is widely believed to have been rigged in favor of President Hamid Karzai, and many fear challenger Abdullah Abdullah and the warlords he represents... More »

Afghan Fraud Panel Tosses Votes From 83 Stations

(AP) - The UN-backed commission investigating fraud in Afghanistan's presidential election has thrown out ballots from 83 polling stations across the country, all of them in areas with strong support for President Hamid Karzai. The president currently has more than 50% of the preliminary count. But if the commission throws out enough... More »

Afghan Election Watchdogs Order Partial Vote Recount

Electoral commission sees 'clear and convincing' fraud in presidential race

(Newser) - A UN-backed electoral commission has ordered a partial ballot recount of the Aug. 20 election in Afghanistan, CNN reports, amid what it called "clear and convincing evidence of fraud in a number of polling stations." The decision comes less than 24 hours after the US ambassador met with... More »

Karzai Set Up 800 Fake Poll Sites, Say Diplomats

Ten times as many ballots as voters, say Western officials

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai's supporters set up hundreds of fake polling stations that delivered hundreds of thousands of votes to the Afghan president, even though nobody voted there, diplomats tell the New York Times. The incumbent's team created as many as 800 fake sites, existing only on paper. Karzai allies also occupied... More »

Karzai Team Forged All 24K Ballots in 1 District: Charge

Afghan president's campaign allegedly detained tribal leader, closed polls

(Newser) - Tribal leaders in southern Afghanistan make the strongest allegations yet of ballot fraud, telling Dexter Filkins of the New York Times that in their district, "Hamid Karzai's people stuffed all the ballot boxes." Members of the Bariz tribe, who endorsed challenger Abdullah Abdullah, say aides to Karzai's brother—... More »

Fraud Accusations Double in Afghan Election

Karzai's opponents accuse him of stuffing ballot boxes

(Newser) - When a Kabul school teacher arrived at 6am at an election station he was supposed to run, he found the ballot boxes already full. When he protested, the local tribal chieftain’s men took him away. His is just one of 550 serious fraud accusations that Afghan election officials are... More »

Insurgents Reverse Afghan Women's Political Gains

(Newser) - Afghan women streamed to the ballot boxes five years ago, and in some districts female turnout was even higher than male. But the flood of women voters that delighted aid groups dried up this year, reports the Washington Post, and many of the segregated female polling stations had few if... More »

Taliban Cut Off My Nose, Ears for Voting: Farmer

Kabul hospital turned him away due to overcrowding

(Newser) - An Afghan farmer who dared walk to a polling place for the presidential election 10 days ago paid a bitter price, losing his nose and both ears in a Taliban attack, the Independent reports. In the first account by a victim of election retribution, Lal Mohammed, 40, says three militants... More »

US Envoy Gets Hot With Karzai Over Fraud

Source says Holbrooke meeting with Afghan prez was 'explosive,' 'dramatic bust-up'

(Newser) - The top US envoy to Afghanistan held an “explosive” meeting with President Hamid Karzai last week, sources tell the BBC, with the “dramatic bust-up” focused on reports of election fraud. The meeting was held a day after the Aug. 20 election, before any results were released, but Richard... More »

Karzai Widens Lead in New Poll Returns

He's up 45% to 35%, but only 17% of votes have been counted

(AP) - President Hamid Karzai extended his lead over his top challenger in Afghanistan's presidential election, but he remained short of the 50% threshold that would allow him to avoid a two-man runoff. With only 17% of the vote counted, Karzai has 44.8%, while Abdullah Abdullah has 35.1%. The count... More »

Under Pressure, Afghans Pledge Results Within Day

(Newser) - With the leading opposition candidate further hinting at election fraud, and international observers not exactly disagreeing, officials in Afghanistan say they’ll release preliminary results tomorrow from last week’s voting. But even that could raise tensions, the Los Angeles Times reports, as Abdullah Abdullah claims there’s no way... More »

Afghan Elections a Setback for Women

Low female turnout could mean leaders even less responsive to women

(AP) - For women, Afghanistan's recent elections appear to have been more of a setback than a step forward. Early reports strongly suggest that voter turnout fell more sharply for women than for men in last week's polls. Election observers blame Taliban attacks, a dearth of female election workers, and the closure... More »

Karzai Stole Afghanistan Election: Rival

With early vote count due Tuesday, Abdullah alleges fraud

(Newser) - Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai’s strongest political rival in the Afghan presidential race, is charging his opponent with engineering widespread voter fraud in the southern and eastern regions, the Guardian reports. A watchdog group controlled by international officials, which says the official election commission is controlled by Karzai supporters, has... More »

Taliban Chops Off Fingers of Afghan Voters

(Newser) - The Taliban is following through on its threat to chop off the fingers of Afghan voters, the Los Angeles Times reports. In southern Afghanistan, considered the most hazardous place for Afghans to vote, militants attacked two voters and cut off their ink-dyed fingers, authorities said. A third case is under... More »

Messy Afghan Election Gives White House New Headache

(Newser) - White House hopes that the Afghan election would show the country's progress toward stability have been dashed, as the voting instead highlighted the challenges Afghanistan faces, the New York Times reports. With a runoff between President Karzai and challenger Adbullah Abdullah on the horizon, observers complain of fraud, ballot stuffing... More »

Karzai, Rival Both Claim Victory

(Newser) - As Afghanistan gets down to the difficult job of counting ballots from 6,200 polling stations, both Hamid Karzai and his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah havd claimed victory in the presidential race. No confirmed results have been released, but a Karzai staffer said reports from election monitors indicate that the... More »

Figuring Winner Will Be Tough Part in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Although Afghanistan managed to avoid widespread election-day bloodshed yesterday, the hard part is yet to come, Laura King writes for the Los Angeles Times: deciding who won. First, officials first must conclude whether voting was free and fair enough to make results credible. Already, an early sketch promised for Saturday... More »

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