Lee Sustar reports on the fraud and violence that swept Afghanistan during the August 20 presidential elections.
Socialist Worker, August 26, 2009
NATO soldiers on the scene of a bomb attack before elections in Afghanistan (Shah Marai | AFP)
AN ELECTION intended to showcase Afghanistan’s “emerging democracy” has instead exposed astonishing corruption, fraud and violence on the part of the U.S.-backed government.
Incumbent President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abdullah are each claming victory amid allegations of vote-rigging and fraud on both sides, with Abdullah’s supporters even hinting that his forces will take up arms if the election is stolen by Karzai.
Peace and Justice Post 
Karzai was hellbent on victory. Afghans will pay the price
November 4, 2009The declaration of victory caps weeks of farce and failure, especially for the UN. To send more troops now would be a waste
Peter Galbraith, The Guardian/UK, Nov 3, 2009
Afghanistan’s presidential election is over, and it was a fiasco. The decision by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) to cancel the second round and declare the incumbent, Hamid Karzai, the victor concludes a process that undermined Afghanistan‘s nascent democracy. In the US and Europe, the fraud-tainted elections halted the momentum for President Obama’s new Afghanistan strategy and undercut support for sending more troops.
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Tags:Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan, election, fraud, fraudulent votes, Hamid Karzai, Kai Eide, Peter Galbraith
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