[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
(s)Elections See other (s)Elections Articles Title: Observers Point to Widespread Fraud in Afghan Vote Abdullah Vows 'Responsible' Challenge if Karzai Steals Election While international observers cheered the Afghan election as a great victory, the domestic election observer group Officials with the Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan, which dispatched an enormous 7,000 observers across the nation, wasnt nearly so upbeat. In keeping with the various media reports weve heard, the group cautioned that the election saw widespread fraud, including biased election workers and ballot stuffing. And thats only in the places where security concerns didnt force the polls to close entirely. This was largely in keeping with anecdotal evidence from the Times of London, which noted in an article published this morning that one of the polling places they visited outside Kabul saw essentially no voters the entire time they were there, but claimed to have 5,530 votes. Since the Times arrived an hour after the polls opened, workers claimed all the voters had come and left, meaning they were processing over 100 ballots a minute. Perhaps even more absurd, the polling place claimed to have over 3,000 women voters, even though it didnt have any female staff and women arent allowed to vote without female staff present. The ballots of women, however, have been reported to be available for sale on the open market for as little as $8 each. One of the staff confided as well that they are all voting for (incumbent President Hamid) Karzai. Dr. Abdullah Abdullah But while top challenger Dr. Abdullah Abdullah has promised to mount a vigorous challenge to any attempt by Karzai to steal the election, but noting that the Americans are very wary of the fragility of the situation he promised to make it a responsible one. This seemed to be an attempt to ensure the international forces that he would not become this nations Mir-Hossein Moussavi, who months after the disputed vote in Iran remains a thorn in that regimes side. Abdullah has promised to prevent public demonstrations, otherwise this country could go into turmoil. And if the massive death tolls and endless wars of today are Afghanistan pre-turmoil, one certainly doesnt want that, fraudulent elections notwithstanding.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top Page Up Full Thread Page Down Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 1.
#1. To: Ada (#0)
Ha! Sounds like West Philadelphia, Nov. 4, 2008.
There are no replies to Comment # 1. End Trace Mode for Comment # 1.
Top Page Up Full Thread Page Down Bottom/Latest |
||
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|