Media asked to examine Afghan voter fraud

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- An official complaint commission for the Afghan elections called on media outlets to come forward with any evidence they may have regarding voter fraud.

The Election Complaint Commission said it was investigating at least 35 of the more than 200 complaints issued by various candidates on Aug. 20, the day of the provincial and presidential elections.

Fahim Hakim, a representative of the ECC, told the Pajhwok Afghan News agency that evidence of fraud as recorded by the media could help his organization investigate the looming allegations.

"The material used in poll rigging and reported by media are very helpful and they (media) should share the items, like pictures, videos, etc., with the ECC," he said.

Complaints range from underage and duplicate voters to vandalism and intimidation. Mirwais Yasini, first deputy speaker in the lower House of the Afghan Parliament and presidential contender, told media outlets he had 700 ballot papers in his favor that he claims were removed from polling stations.

In the south, where voter turnout was extremely low, Yasini said he had evidence to suggest 30,000 ballot papers cast for him were burned.

Ashraf Ghani, a former finance minister under incumbent President Hamid Karzai, filed complaints that supporters of his rivals threatened voters with guns at the polling stations.

For his part, Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister and leading challenger to Karzai, says the incumbent exploited his position to rig the election.

With about 10 percent of the votes counted, early preliminary results show the race between Karzai and Abdullah is too close to call.