Thursday, September 03, 2009

DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY September 3, 2009 ~ President Hamid Karzai Extends Lead In Afghan Vote

DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY September 3, 2009 ~ President Hamid Karzai Extends Lead In Afghan Vote *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - September 3, 2009: Latest Afghan vote count shows incumbent President Hamid Karzai strengthening the lead over his main rival Abdullah Abdullah in the recent presidential election. Figures released by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Wednesday showed Karzai getting 47.3 per cent of the vote. But the incumbent president was still just shy of the 50 percent needed to avoid a run-off in October. This is while his main challenger and former foreign minister Abdullah has gained over 32 percent of the ballots. More than 60 percent of the ballots have been counted so far from Afghanistan's August 20 presidential election. Results are being released daily; however, it can take several weeks before the official results are announced. Abdullah has accused Karzai of a massive vote rigging and warned he would reject the result if fraud played a part in the outcome. Tribal leaders in the troubled southern provinces have accused officials of stuffing election boxes with thousands of ballots marked for incumbent Karzai, according to western press reports. Abdullah said he would examine all legal avenues to counter 'state-engineered fraud'. Abdullah has been favored by the US and other western countries to win the election and seem to be bent on questioning the elections outcome if he does not win. A similar approach was adopted when presidential elections in Iran did not turn our their way. The election in Afghanistan marks the second direct presidential vote held since US-led troops invaded the country eight years ago.

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