Karzai Wins Majority in Afghan Election

[cal04]

Hamid Karzai clinched a majority of the votes cast in Afghanistan’s first presidential election, near-complete results showed today, making him all but certain of becoming the war-ravaged nation’s first democratically elected leader.

Still, rivals to the US-backed Karzai said they would not concede before an investigation of alleged irregularities is completed and all the votes tallied. By this evening, Karzai had received 4,240,041 votes, more than half of the estimated 8,129,935 valid votes cast in the October 9 ballot, the joint UN-Afghan electoral board said.

That means that even if all the remaining estimated votes went to other candidates, he would still get more than the 50% necessary to avoid a runoff.With 7,666,529 valid votes – or 94.3% of the total – counted, Karzai had received 55.3%, 39 percentage points ahead of his nearest rival, former education minister Yunus Qanooni.

Karzai’s campaign spokesman said today’s figures confirmed optimism that the interim leader would triumph when the final results are released in the next few days.“I’m going to see his excellency this evening to see when to start the celebrations,” Hamed Elmi told The Associated Press. “We were up against 17 candidates, but the people were behind us. We will sleep soundly tonight.”

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3667872

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041024/ap_on_re_as/afghan_election_7

[VegasWolf]

1. Gee, now that the puppet was "elected", I wonder if he will be able

to step one foot outside Kabul?

New Information Shows Bush Indecisive, Paranoid, Delusional

[acmavm]

2. That's what I was wondering. Karzai is know as the Mayor of Kabul. And

he can travel only in a very small area of the city.

I doubt that we'll be seeing much peace and democracy there in the near future. How's he going to fund his government? On the heroin poppy revenues? How's he going to control the warlords? His only hope in continued NATO support and protection. Will there be a big change in the lives of Afgani women? Not on your (their) life. Did the election change much in Afganistan? Not really, it'll just be more of the same. But the bush* adminstration will be able to say that it's a democracy now.

[freebird04]

3. Karzai is just a puppet

And I'll bet most of the Afghanis know it too. The warlords will retain power as they have through the Soviet occupation, the current occupation and the previous umpteen centuries. What a joke. Bush is a fraud for pretending that some radical change has occurred there.

[Robbie67]

4. shocker!

I was not expecting that! :crazy:

[Almost_there]

5. Nothing to see here, move along.. move along..

I'll bet they have already discarded the ballots, one count is enough, "don't worry Mr. UN Election Inspector, everything is A-OK!" Well, if this is what the Afghan people want, then this is what they will get. Insane.

~Almost

[BiggJawn]

6. This is News?

Duh....
Hey, everybotty! Karzai WON! Free Opium for EVERYBOTTY!

(not you, you stupid Murkans. Buy yours from the CIA, like you always do)

[are_we_united_yet]

7. Another

shining example of Democracy taking root in the middle east.

:eyes:

[underpants]

8. Have fun "governing" your bunker there Karzai

-

[number6]

9. what a joke

...