KABUL — A U.N.-backed commission found “convincing evidence” of fraud Tuesday in Afghanistan’s presidential election and ordered a recount of suspect ballots in at least three provinces, a process that could take months.
At the same time, Afghan officials released new returns that give President Hamid Karzai 54 percent of the vote with nearly all ballots tallied, enough to avoid a runoff unless large numbers of tainted ballots are thrown out.
The separate announcements from the complaints commission, which is dominated by U.N.-appointed Westerners, and the election commission, filled with Karzai appointees, could set the stage for a showdown.
The image of a crooked Afghan president rigging the vote threatens to discredit the entire U.S.-led mission at a time when NATO casualties are mounting and American, European and Canadian voters are fatigued and disenchanted with the war.
The Associated Press
