UN Investigators Find Evidence of Fraud in Afghan Election

Josh Pringle with Kate Yule
Monday, October 19, 2009

The Secretary General of the United Nations says he has been assured by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that he will “fully respect” the constitutional process.

A Canadian-run United Nations panel says it has found widespread fraud in the August Afghan election, and has thrown out hundreds of thousands of ballots for Karzai.

Sources say the thrown out votes pushes Karzai’s share of the vote below the 50 per cent threshold needed to prevent a run-off election.

The Independent Election Commission must decide whether or not to order a second round of balloting.

A spokeswoman for UN chief Ban Ki-moon says he urged Karzai to respect the constitutional elections process, and was pleased to hear the Afghan President “will fully respect the constitutional order."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Karzai will announce his intentions on Tuesday, adding “I am going to let him do that, but I am encouraged at the direction the situation is moving.”