Claims of Fraud Persist as Afghanistan Begins Partial Recount
By Randi Zung
September 15, 2009

After claims of election fraud in Afghanistan’s August 20th presidential election, a recount was conducted by the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC).  The BBC reports that the ECC found clear evidence of fraud, saying that “ballots were not legally cast, or were not legally counted.”  Officials in charge of investigating the election fraud have ordered a recount at over 10% of the polling stations.  This recount means that the results of the election could potentially be delayed until next year.

Even with the recount, some international officials maintain that the results are still falsified, alleging that fraudulent votes were still counted towards incumbent President Hamid Karzai’s win.  Abdullah Abdullah, one of the main challengers to Karzai, is accusing the Electoral Complaints Commission of acting in favor of Karzai.  Abdullah contends that an election widely seen as illegitimate will create further instability in the country.  International officials called for stricter regulations in the recount, but their demands were overruled on September 7th.  With the stricter regulations, Karzai would have been forced into a runoff vote against Abdullah Abdullah.  As of September 8th, Karzai had enough votes to claim victory and avoid a runoff.

The results of the initial election were called into question after fake polling sites were found to have recorded thousands of ballots in favor of Karzai.  According to the New York Times, election officials have confirmed that as many as 800 polling sites were fictitious.  In addition to the fake polling sites, officials are now also stating that some polling sites never opened, but still managed to record votes for Karzai.  It was also found that Karzai supporters took over legitimate polling sites and recorded thousands of votes in his favor.  In a French newspaper, Karzai is quoted as stating that fraud would be “inevitable in a growing democracy.”  Karzai was elected into office in 2004 in Afghanistan’s first presidential election.

The election fraud puts the Obama administration in a tough position because it shows the American public that Afghanistan is still plagued with governmental instability despite 8 years of US involvement and money.  The New York Times speculates that the administration is also worried that by making strong statements against the election, the legitimacy of the next Afghani president will be called into question by the international community.

Sources:

Fake Afghan Poll Sites Favored Karzai, Officials Assert
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/07/world/asia/07fraud.html?sq=election&st=cse&scp=10&pagewanted=all

Marred Afghan Vote Leaves U.S. in a Delicate Spot
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/world/asia/09policy.html?scp=6&sq=election&st=cse

As Vote Count Gives Karzai a Majority, a Recount Is Ordered
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/world/asia/09afghan.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=election&st=cse

Afghan fraud ballots invalidated
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8248543.stm

Q&A: Afghan election
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8179845.stm

www.ccd21.org