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Challenger demands investigation of Afghan vote
By DOUGLAS BIRCH,Associated Press Writer AP - Saturday, September 12
KABUL - The chief challenger to President Hamid Karzai on Friday called for a full investigation of hundreds of reports of fraud in Afghanistan's Aug. 20 presidential contest, while a top U.S. diplomat asked critics to withold judgment about the election's credibility.
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Both statements came after a U.N.-backed commission on Thursday threw out thousands of ballots from dozens of polling stations and ordered recounts in parts of three Afghan provinces.
In an interview with the BBC Thursday, Richard Holbrooke said critics should not judge Afghanistan's presidential contest until the count is finished and all investigations are completed.
"Let's see what happens before we jump to any conclusions," said Holbrooke, envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The U.N.-backed Afghan Electoral Complaints Commission, which is investigating fraud allegations, has the power to order a complete rerun of the election, with all challengers participating.
Holbrooke doubted that would happen. "That doesn't strike me as a very viable option," he said.
But Karzai's lead in the presidential vote appears to be shrinking as the U.N.-backed commission tosses out tainted ballots, making a runoff with former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah more likely.
Abdul Star Murad, Abdullah's campaign chief in Kabul, called for a full investigation into all allegations of cheating.
"It is very important that the nation continues to trust the political process," he said. "The nation has the right to know who got the most votes in every area."
If that doesn't happen, he said, "the nation and the people will lose their trust in the system."
Afghanistan's presidential contest was marred by allegations of ballot stuffing, phantom polling stations and turnout at some polls that exceeded 100 percent of registered voters.
A spokesman for the Karzai-appointed Independent Elections Commission, which is counting the ballots, told reporters earlier this week that a complete tally of returns would be released Saturday.
But election officials said Friday that announcement could be delayed.
So far the elections commission has counted ballots from 92 percent of the country's polling stations. Those returns show Karzai with 54 percent of the vote, more than the 50 percent plus one he needs to avoid a runoff with Abdullah, who has 28 percent.
But most of the ballots thrown out so far were cast in southern and eastern Afghanistan, Karzai's political base.
If enough Karzai votes are ruled invalid, that could push the incumbent's total below 50 percent and force a runoff.
Decisions by this fraud commission are final under Afghanistan's electoral law. The group _ comprised of one American, one Canadian, one Dutch, and two Afghans _ is releasing decisions from each province as its investigations finish.
On Thursday, the commission threw out ballots from 51 polling stations in Kandahar province, 27 in Ghazni and five in Paktika.
Although it did not say how many ballots were invalidated, thousands are likely involved. It ordered election officials to recount votes in hundreds of other voting centers across the three districts in the presence of observers, commission members and representatives of the candidates.
All three provinces are dominated by voters who, like Karzai, are ethnic Pashtuns and form the president's political base.
Britain's Foreign Secretary said Friday the U.K. won't accept any cover-up in investigations into allegations of electoral fraud.
David Miliband told BBC radio that Britain "will not be party to any whitewash in respect of this election."
He also said that the elections did not meet international standards for a free and fair poll, but added that he still believed "the new government can be a legitimate and credible expression of the will of the Afghan people." He said that no one should be under the illusion that Afghanistan is a Western-style democracy.
Meanwhile Friday, NATO said two of its troops had been killed in eastern Afghanistan. One was a U.S. service member killed in an attack on a patrol. Another service member was killed after coming under fire. Both died Thursday.
The military alliance did not immediately identify the second casualty's nationality or provide other information, but Poland's Defense Ministry said one of its soldiers was killed and four others injured in an exchange of fire with the Taliban in Afghanistan on Thursday in eastern Ghazni province.
___
Associated Press reporters Kay Johnson and Heidi Vogt contributed to this report.
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