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U.N. diplomats press Afghan commission for election changes
Hal Bernton - The Seattle TimesIssue date: 10/22/09 Section: Real News
KABUL, Afghanistan - United Nations diplomats and the chairman of an Afghan election commission are sparring over efforts to curb fraud in the country's Nov. 7 presidential runoff election.
U.N. and Western officials want to bolster the Afghan election process in hopes a second round between incumbent President Hamid Karzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah can quickly yield a winner most Afghans accept as legitimate.
The diplomats are pressing for several changes, including closing hundreds of polling centers that recorded thousands of questionable votes, most of them for Karzai, during the first round of voting Aug. 20.
"We will not give people the opportunity to use these stations," said Aleem Siddique, a spokesman for the United Nations mission in Afghanistan.
An Afghan election official, however, said he hopes to keep all of the more than 6,000 polling centers open, and that there should be no special effort to shut down those that were a focal point of fraud.
"These are my decisions, not the United Nations' decision," said Azizullah Ludin, a Karzai appointee who serves as the chairman of the Afghan Independent Election Commission. "We've decided to open all the stations unless the security situation does not permit that."
The run-off was triggered by a fraud investigation that tossed out hundreds of thousands of questionable votes for Karzai in an election that was funded largely by some $380 million from international donors.
Karzai needed more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid the runoff, but when fraudulent votes were deducted, his share dropped to 49.7 percent from 54.6 percent.
The widespread fraud was a major setback for U.S. and other NATO nations whose leaders had hoped the election would give them a credible ally as they wage the ninth year of war against the Taliban. It also damaged the credibility of Ludin and the seven-person election commission he leads.
Western diplomats initially were divided about how to deal with the fraud, but they eventually united to put strong pressure on Karzai to accept a second round election.
U.N. and Western officials want to bolster the Afghan election process in hopes a second round between incumbent President Hamid Karzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah can quickly yield a winner most Afghans accept as legitimate.
The diplomats are pressing for several changes, including closing hundreds of polling centers that recorded thousands of questionable votes, most of them for Karzai, during the first round of voting Aug. 20.
"We will not give people the opportunity to use these stations," said Aleem Siddique, a spokesman for the United Nations mission in Afghanistan.
An Afghan election official, however, said he hopes to keep all of the more than 6,000 polling centers open, and that there should be no special effort to shut down those that were a focal point of fraud.
"These are my decisions, not the United Nations' decision," said Azizullah Ludin, a Karzai appointee who serves as the chairman of the Afghan Independent Election Commission. "We've decided to open all the stations unless the security situation does not permit that."
The run-off was triggered by a fraud investigation that tossed out hundreds of thousands of questionable votes for Karzai in an election that was funded largely by some $380 million from international donors.
Karzai needed more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid the runoff, but when fraudulent votes were deducted, his share dropped to 49.7 percent from 54.6 percent.
The widespread fraud was a major setback for U.S. and other NATO nations whose leaders had hoped the election would give them a credible ally as they wage the ninth year of war against the Taliban. It also damaged the credibility of Ludin and the seven-person election commission he leads.
Western diplomats initially were divided about how to deal with the fraud, but they eventually united to put strong pressure on Karzai to accept a second round election.
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