Major fraud complaints in the Afghan presidential election have surged to nearly 700, raising concern that the volume of cases that must be investigated would delay announcement of a winner and formation of a new government.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is leading with 46.2 percent of votes from the Aug. 20 ballot, followed by former Afghan foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah with 31.4 percent, official figures from 35 percent of the polling stations showed. Karzai must win more than half the votes to avoid a runoff.
Final results cannot be certified until the election complaint commission finishes investigating all major fraud allegations.
Officials had hoped to release the final tally by Sept. 17, but the huge number of complaints makes that unlikely.
The commission said on Sunday it had received 691 “Category A” fraud allegations — more than double the 270 major complaints reported two days before.
Collectively, the complaints — if true — would cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election, dashing Obama administration hopes that the balloting would produce a credible government capable of confronting the Taliban threat, corruption and the flourishing narcotics trade.
A spokeswoman for the complaints commission, Nellika Little, said in all, 2,096 allegations of fraud and voter intimidation had been received. The commission is still evaluating those complaints and the number of those deemed major could rise, she said.
Such a large number of fraud allegations has raised concern whether Afghans will accept the final results. Abdullah has accused Karzai of using state resources to rig the vote and has ruled out an alliance if the incumbent wins. Election day was also marred by low turnout as well as Taliban threats and attacks.
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