KABUL – Afghan president Hamid Karzai was yesterday heading nearer to an outright victory in elections marred by widespread fraud after electoral officials defied western pressure to withhold suspect results and stage a partial recount.
The Independent Election Commission released a fresh batch of preliminary results handing Mr Karzai 54.1 per cent of the vote, with ballots from 91 per cent of polling stations counted. If it holds, Mr Karzai would have the simple majority he needs to avoid a run-off with his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who had 28.3 per cent.
US and other western diplomats had been lobbying the officials to hold back further results, fearing Mr Karzai would emerge the winner of a process so flawed it would severely undermine the international mission in Afghanistan.
Karl Eikenberry, the US ambassador to Afghanistan, met Mr Karzai late yesterday to try to persuade him to allow a thorough investigation of fraud complaints.
Widespread reports of systematic ballot stuffing have strained already tense relations between the Afghan president and the US administration at a time when Barack Obama is facing a critical decision on whether to commit more troops.
The commission released the disputed results hours after a United Nations-backed election watchdog known as the Electoral Complaints Commission said it had found “clear and convincing” evidence of fraud in several southern provinces and ordered a recount in some areas. Official results are not due to be announced until later this month when all the complaints have been processed.
Hours before the results were released, a suicide car bomber blew up a vehicle outside a Nato military base at Kabul’s main airport, killing three civilians.
– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)