Afghan President Hamid Karzai said yesterday he believed reports of fraud in the country’s presidential election had been exaggerated and he firmly believed in the integrity of the process.
Complete preliminary results released on Wednesday showed Karzai winning the Aug. 20 election in a single round with more than 54 percent of the vote. The EU however said more than a third of his votes might be suspect because of fraud.
The result is not final until a UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission finishes a complaints process, including a recount of about 10 percent of polling stations, after finding what it called “clear and convincing evidence of fraud,”
PHOTO: EPA
Karzai did not declare a final victory, saying the complaints process must still run its course, but he played down suggestions that fraud could have taken place on a big enough scale to overturn the outcome and force a second round run-off.
“I believe firmly, firmly in the integrity of the election and the integrity of the Afghan people, and the integrity of the government in that process,” Karzai told a media conference.
“Like other elections of the world ... there were problems and sensitivities in the Afghanistan elections, but it has not been to the extent which the media speak of,” he said.
A disputed election result would prove difficult for US President Barack Obama, who is considering deploying more troops and who set out broad goals on Wednesday for boosting the ability of Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight militancy.
The head of a EU observer mission said on Wednesday as many as 1.5 million votes — including 1.1 million for Karzai — were “suspicious.” Karzai’s campaign has called the EU’s claims “irresponsible” but he backed fraud investigations.
“Fraud, if it were conducted, it has to be investigated, and investigated fairly, and without prejudice,” Karzai said.
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