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UN official acknowledges vote fraud

US Army engineers inspect a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle on Thursday after it broke down on a reconnaissance mission in a remote area of Afghanistan. A decision is expected this week on whether a runoff is needed for the Afghan presidency. PHOTO: AFP

The top UN official in Afghanistan has acknowledged “widespread fraud” in the disputed presidential election and rejected allegations from a former deputy that he covered up cheating to smooth the path to victory for Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

The remarks by Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide appeared designed to win back respect for both the troubled UN mission and the entire election process ahead of a ruling by investigators on whether fraud was extensive enough in the Aug. 20 balloting to require a runoff.

Eide’s reputation was tarnished when his deputy Peter Galbraith alleged that the UN mission chief played down allegations of widespread ballot-stuffing by Karzai’s supporters. Galbraith, the top-ranking American in the UN mission, was fired on Sept. 30 by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after the widely publicized dispute.

A UN-backed fraud panel is expected to decide this week whether to throw out enough votes to require a runoff between Karzai and his top challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. Doubts about the UN’s neutrality could throw the panel’s rulings into question.

Karzai told a news conference that “confusion” over election results had been “created by Western elements in our country.” He did not elaborate.

At a separate news conference, Eide said Galbraith’s allegations were untrue in some cases and taken out of context in others. Eide was flanked by ambassadors from the US, Britain and France in a show of international support for the UN mission and its embattled leader.

Eide said he could “only say that there was widespread fraud” and that “any specific figure at this time would be pure speculation” until the recount is complete.

Final results have been delayed by more than a month as a UN-backed panel set up as a check on the Afghan-appointed election commission examines complaints and suspicious votes. Though preliminary tallies show Karzai winning with about 54 percent, enough Karzai ballots are suspect that the voiding of fraudulent votes could drop him below the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff.

Meanwhile, a member of the panel set up to investigate fraud complaints resigned yesterday, blaming “the interference of foreigners.”

Maulavi Mustafa Barakzia was one of only two Afghans on the Electoral Complaints Commission.
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