Pervasive fraud found in Afghan parliamentary vote

The Independent Election Commission gained a new identity this year under Fazal Ahmad Manawi, center, in blue, who checked the validity of votes in Kabul on Sept. 30.

The New York Times:

Kabul, Afghanistan — Although the preliminary results of the Sept. 18 parliamentary elections, expected to be announced Sunday, were postponed, interviews with Afghan and Western officials indicate that fraud was pervasive and that nearly 25 percent of the votes are likely to be thrown out.

The fraud, which included ballot-box stuffing, citizens forced to cast their votes at gunpoint, corrupt election officials and security forces complicit with corrupt candidates, is expected to mean that 800,000 to a million votes will be nullified, according to two Western officials who are following the election closely.

The Afghan Independent Election Commission, which oversees the counting, has refused to disclose the number of votes that could be thrown out, but said in a statement that it had decided to nullify wholly or partially the votes cast at 430 polling places, and that votes at another 830 sites were being audited, suggesting substantial problems.

Until now the commission has been praised for endeavoring to run an honest vote-counting process, but the delay at the last minute, as hundreds of candidates have thronged to the capital, Kabul, clamoring to know the results, has raised questions.

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