Videocrux - Karzai ahead in fraud tainted Afghan vote count

#Videocrux - Karzai ahead in fraud tainted Afghan vote count Karzai ahead in fraud tainted Afghan vote count
After weeks of delays and controversy, incumbent President Hamid Karzai has emerged as the unofficial winner of Afghanistan’s presidential elections. But with more than a million ballots dogged by fraud allegations, the final results may not be known for weeks.
Hamid Karzai in lead by 54.6% votes
Afghan President Hamid Karzai won 54.6 percent of the preliminary count of Afghan poll (August 20, 2009) results released Wednesday from controversial elections, but his victory is not secure until claims of massive vote fraud are resolved.
Daud Ali Najafi announces Karzai's lead
Daud Ali Najafi, Spokesman, Independent Election Commission, announced Karzai's lead in the preliminary count. The IEC announced results from 95 per cent of the polling stations in the August 20 elections, which have been overshadowed by allegations of widespread fraud and threats of violence by Taliban militants. Of 5,800,000 valid votes, Mr Karzai had 3,009,559 against Mr Abdullah's 1,558,591.
Commission reports 1.5 million fishy votes
Dimitra Ioannou, Deputy Head, EU Election Observation Mission, says out of 1.5 million fraudulent votes, 1.1 million votes are for President Hamid Karzai. The results have been released piecemeal, adding tension to a fraught process in which Mr Karzai has all along appeared to be the likely winner.
Allegations of fraud must be resolved
Nader Nadery, Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan says the people who turned out for voting amid growing insecurity and violence, in hope of changing Afghanistan for good, will feel cheated because of all the vote-rigging. He says what is needed at this point is to address these allegations to restore faith in people.
Run-off possible between Karzai & Abdullah
The latest results extend Karzai's lead substantially from earlier partial figures, but they still suggest he would face a run-off, which must be held if no candidate wins more than 50 percent, scheduled for early October. Results have been coming in at different rates from different provinces, so it is difficult to guess at the final outcome. Votes could also be thrown out by a complaints watchdog which says it is probing more than 2,000 accusations of fraud and abuse, including 270 serious enough to alter the outcome.

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