Tandem - Online magazine

Aug30, 2009 - Sept6, 2009

Dark shadow cast over Afghanistan elections
Low voter turnout and fraud allegations plague country as Karzai widens lead

President Hamid Karzai widened his lead over his top challenger Wednesday as Afghan officials released more partial vote results. The president�s new total pushed him closer to the 50 per cent threshold that would allow him to avoid a two-man runoff.
It was the second batch of results released from last week�s presidential election. More will be released in coming days, but final certified results will not be ready until at least mid-September, after dozens of serious complaints of fraud have been investigated.
Low voter turnout and the fraud allegations have cast a pall over the vote. Top challenger Abdullah Abdullah has accused Karzai of widespread rigging, including ballot stuffing and voter intimidation, claims Karzai�s camp has denied.
The latest returns boost Karzai�s standing to 44.8 per cent. Abdullah, a former foreign minister, now has 35.1 per cent. The count is based on returns from 17 per cent of polling stations nationwide, meaning the results could still change dramatically.
Millions of Afghans went to the polls last Thursday to vote in the country�s second-ever direct presidential election. Militants launched dozens of attacks across the country, shutting down some polling sites and appearing to dampen turnout.
This summer has been Afghanistan�s most violent since the 2001 U.S. invasion. President Barack Obama ordered an additional 21,000 troops to the country this year, in part to help secure the elections. But violence has continued to rise.
The Taliban on Wednesday denied any responsibility for a major bombing that killed at least 43 people and wounded 65 in southern Afghanistan�s largest city just after dark Tuesday.
The explosion ripped through a central area of Kandahar two hours after the first batch of election results were released. Rescue workers were still pulling out injured people early Wednesday. The blast occurred in a district that includes U.N. facilities and an Afghan intelligence office.
The Interior Ministry said the blast was from remote-controlled explosives planted in a truck. Local officials had said a cluster of five vehicle bombs caused the blast.

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