[Peace-discuss] Will we condemn it as we did iran?

[C. G. Estabrook]

"'Of course there were some irregularities, that happens in the United States,' 
said US regional envoy Richard Holbrooke."

	Mass rigging in Afghan vote says leading contender
	by Waheedullah Massoud

KABUL (AFP) – A leading contender for the Afghan presidency who says he is ahead 
in the count after last week's election alleged widespread rigging as 
authorities said Sunday they were probing 225 claims of abuses.

Western allies hailed the elections as a successful vote for democracy, but a 
litany of flaws and evidence that the vote was not totally free have mounted 
since Thursday's poll and fuelled speculation about a possible run-off.

"There are widespread irregularities, fraud and efforts for rigging," said 
ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, President Hamid Karzai's closest 
challenger and who, like the incumbent, claims to be leading the vote.

He said his team received "constant reports" that turnout, which observers say 
was the lowest for an election since the 2001 US-led invasion, was in some areas 
inflated by four times the real figure, with all the votes for Karzai.

"Since this is a sign of widespread rigging, I thought the people of Afghanistan 
deserve to know what is going on and the international community deserves to 
know about our concerns," he said.

Abdullah ran an energetic campaign and his claims of success, coupled with 
reports of a miserable turnout in Karzai's southern powerbase, have boosted 
speculation about a run-off, which would take place in early October.

"Of course there were some irregularities, that happens in the United States and 
all the countries of the world," said US regional envoy Richard Holbrooke, who 
has been in Afghanistan since the eve of the election.

To avoid a second round, one candidate would need to win an outright majority of 
50 percent plus one vote. With definitive results not due until next month, 
Afghan and Western officials are calling for calm.

Abdullah's powerbase in the north means he has the widespread support of Tajiks, 
whereas Karzai's strong influence in the Pashtun-dominated south means the two 
largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan are potentially divided.

Abdullah said the allegations of rigging had been directed to Afghanistan's 
independent Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) for investigation.

"As of close of business yesterday, the ECC had received approximately 225 
complaints. And these are complaints on and since election day," ECC chairman 
Grant Kippen told reporters earlier.

The charges include tampering with ballot boxes, intimidation of voters, 
violence, failures of supposedly indelible ink meant to prevent people from 
voting twice and interference in polling, he said.

"Thirty-five have been assigned a high priority and these are ones that we had 
to deem to be material to the outcome of the election results," he said.
The election authority is expected to release turnout numbers this week but 
observers have reported low figures, including just 10 percent in some areas.
Partial results are scheduled to be released from Tuesday with the election 
commission saying 90 percent of results are expected to arrive at the national 
tally centre in Kabul by the end of Monday.

Insurgents from the Taliban, which was in government between 1996 and 2001 and 
is strong in the south, threatened attacks to disrupt the vote.

There were a series of rocket and bomb assaults on election day, but no 
catastrophic large-scale onslaught.

"We are aware of significant complaints of voting irregularities in provinces 
that were affected by violence on polling day," Kippen said.

Although the election was hailed a success in foreign capitals which have pumped 
billions into Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion and deployed 100,000 
troops to contain a Taliban insurgency, concerns have mounted.

"Free was not the case in some parts of the territory due to terror installed," 
said the head of the EU observation mission, Philippe Morillon.

The Free and Fair Foundation of Afghanistan mentioned cases of intimidation, 
multiple and under-age voting, fraud, ballot stuffing, partial election 
commission staff and militants cutting off the fingers of two voters.

In further developments a top US military officer has said Al-Qaeda remains 
"very capable" of attacking the United States, as he tried to boost waning US 
support for the conflict in Afghanistan.

Nearly eight years after the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed some 3,000 
people, Al-Qaeda is "still very capable, very focused on it," chairman of the 
Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen said on NBC's Meet the Press.

"They also are able to both train and support and finance, and so that 
capability is still significant," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090824/wl_afp/afghanistanvote_20090824013653/print