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Widespread fraud in 'successful' Afghan poll
Sydney Morning Herald - October 21, 2010
Dexter Filkins, Kabul – Afghanistan has released full preliminary results from last month's election, throwing out more than 20 per cent of ballots because of fraud.
The chairman of the election commission, Fazel Ahmad Manawi, says about 1.3 million votes were disqualified, out of 5.6 million. That means about 23 per cent of ballots were discarded because of ballot-box stuffing or rejigged totals.
Election officials called the vote a success because they were able to catch the fraud, but the number of fraudulent ballots also indicates that cheating was pervasive in a vote that many hoped would show the government's commitment to reform.
It was not immediately clear what the results released yesterday would mean for the make-up of the 249-member Parliament.
Meanwhile, details have emerged of the talks to end the war in Afghanistan. They involve extensive, face-to-face discussions with Taliban commanders from the highest levels of the group's leadership, who are secretly leaving their sanctuaries in Pakistan with the help of NATO troops, according to officials in Afghanistan.
The discussions, some of which have taken place in Kabul, are unfolding between the inner circle of the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, and members of the Quetta shura, the leadership group that oversees the Taliban war effort inside Afghanistan.
Afghan leaders have met leaders of the Haqqani network, one of the most hard-line guerrilla factions; and members of the Peshawar shura, whose fighters are based in eastern Afghanistan.
The Taliban leaders have left their havens in Pakistan on the explicit assurance that they will not be attacked or arrested by NATO forces, Afghans familiar with the talks say. Many top Taliban leaders live in Pakistan.
In at least one case, Taliban leaders crossed the border and boarded a NATO aircraft bound for Kabul, according to an Afghan with knowledge of the talks. In other cases, NATO troops have secured roads to allow Taliban officials to reach Afghan- and NATO-controlled areas. Most of the discussions have taken place outside Kabul, according to the Afghan official.
US officials said last week talks between Afghan and Taliban leaders were under way. But the ranks of the insurgents, the fact they represent multiple factions and the extent of NATO efforts to assist have not been previously disclosed.
At least four Taliban leaders, three from the Quetta shura and one from the Haqqani family, have taken part in talks, according to the Afghan official and a former diplomat in the region.
The identities of the Taliban leaders are being withheld by The New York Times at the request of the White House and an Afghan who has taken part in the talks.
The discussions are still described as preliminary, partly because Afghan and US officials are trying to determine how much influence the Taliban leaders have within their organisations. (Agencies)
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