Confusion Over Vote Count in Landmark Afghan Election

[Khephra]

KABUL (Reuters) - Confusion surrounded the start of vote counting in Afghanistan's landmark presidential poll on Thursday, with some election officials saying the tally had begun but others adamant it had not.

Five days after the country's first ever direct presidential election, it was not clear whether the eight regional counting centers had begun work, after delays caused by an investigation into voter irregularities, including multiple voting.

``I think most of the eight regional counting centers have started already, and the rest of them should also start today,'' said Sadeq Mudaber, an Afghan election official.

But other members of the U.N.-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body said they were unaware of the development, some three hours after the counting had been due to begin. It was not clear why the process had been further delayed.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-afghan.html

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. Want to bet that in three more weeks

the headline is going to read, "Confusion Over Vote Count in Landmark US Election"?

[Rebel_with_a_cause]

2. What's to count? I thought 15 of 16 candidates had dropped out

due to complaints of fraud.

[MrPrax]

3. An interesting take here...

From The Nation
Postcard From Kabul
by CHRISTIAN PARENTI

Despite a large voter turnout in Kabul and other major cities, the presidential election in Afghanistan has been a farce. Instead of Taliban violence, the balloting was besieged by a wave of fraud and technical errors. All of Karzai's opponents have denounced the vote as illegitimate, triggering a local and perhaps international credibility crisis for the US-appointed President Hamid Karzai and the international occupation of Afghanistan.
<snip>
"I voted three times," said an Afghan solider guarding the presidential palace. "But I can't tell you who I voted for, it's a secret," he added with a straight face.

"I saw a man vote six times, I swear," said a female election observer at a poll across town. A few Western journalists watched as their drivers voted three and four times.

When news of the vanishing ink spread, some polls closed, then reopened. Other polls ran out of ballots, others had no pens for marking the ballots, still others ran out of ballots or space in ballot boxes. On top of that, there were numerous allegations of intimidation. One presidential candidate claimed that his observers saw the police in Kabul telling people to vote for Karzai.

More

[meow2u3]

4. We had elections in Afghanistan! Freedom is on the march!

whoppie-freakin'-doo!