1 of 2 | Ballot papers from the Afghanistan presidential election are seen in a polling station in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 21, 2009. Afghan President Hamid Karzai's re-election chances appeared tougher as Afghans voted Thursday in their second-ever election. UPI/Mohammad Kheirkhah |
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KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Afghan election officials are readying for an October run-off though uncertified results say President Hamid Karzai won, a source told The Guardian.
The British newspaper reported while it is widely felt any likely run-off is not possible before April with the onset of harsh winter, it quoted a senior Western official that the Afghan Independent Election Commission -- faced with mounting voter-fraud complaints and under orders to recount votes in some polling stations -- had penciled in a run-off vote for the third week of October.
The election commission's final uncertified results announced Wednesday gave Karzai 54.6 percent of the votes cast in his bid for a second term, while his nearest rival, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah received about 28 percent.
Also on Wednesday, European Union monitors raised more doubts about the election's integrity, saying about 1.5 million votes, or about a third of the total votes, need to be probed because of their suspicious nature. Separately, the U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission, the final authority to certify the results, has ordered recounts of ballot boxes in 10 percent of the polling places. Karzai needs to get more than 50 percent of the certified votes to avoid a run-off.
The Guardian reported a new vote may calm Abdullah, who has said Karzai manipulated the election, and prevent any crisis arising from a questionable result. But it could also stop Afghans in snowbound areas from voting if held in late October.
"It could be a nightmare. On top of the security problem of further Taliban attacks, some areas will be left out of the vote," the Western official said.
