|
Afghan election result delayed due to fraud probe
[DAWN] Afghanistan's preliminary presidential election result has been delayed by two days due to fraud investigations and will now be released on Saturday, officials said Wednesday as they vowed to sift out fake votes.Partial results from the April 5 election to succeed President Hamid Maybe I'll join the TalibanKarzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtunface on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... have already been released, with former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... ahead of his main rival Ashraf Ghani after half of the ballots were counted. Hundreds of serious fraud allegations are being probed in an attempt to ensure a cleaner election than in 2009, when Karzai retained power in a vote marred by rampant cheating. "The IEC is conducting thorough investigations of all irregularities," the Independent Election Commission said in a blurb. "While these investigations have delayed the process slightly, they are critical to the accuracy and integrity of final results." The latest partial results put Abdullah in the lead with 44.4 per cent followed by former World Bank economist Ghani on 33.2 per cent. If no candidate gains more than 50 per cent, a second-round election between the two leading names is tentatively scheduled for May 28. Posted by: Fred 2014-04-24 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=389894 |