Afghan election watchdog amasses evidence of fraud

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Afghans line up to vote.


Afghan election watchdog amasses evidence of fraud
By Jonathan S. Landay and Saeed Shah | McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Sunday, September 19, 2010

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan's leading election watchdog expressed deepening alarm Sunday at reports it was amassing of vote-rigging and bloodshed that claimed at least two dozen lives in the nation's second legislative election since the 2001 U.S. invasion.

With elections officials beginning the laborious process of certifying votes in the closely watched races, independent observers raised new warnings about the scale of fraud, intimidation and unrest that could undermine the credibility of the new Parliament.

"We are more concerned because we are collecting more information," said Nader Nadery, head of the Free and Fair Election Foundation, a coalition of civic groups that fielded some 7,000 observers during Saturday's elections to the 249-seat lower house of Parliament.

Nadery, whose organization alleged extensive ballot-stuffing and security problems almost immediately after the polls closed Saturday, declined to elaborate on the new data that the group is reviewing until a news conference set for Monday.

"I'm encouraged by the turnout compared to what was expected," Nadery added, referring to the official initial estimate of 4 million. About 6 million voters turned out in last year's fraud-marred presidential election, which secured a second four-year term for President Hamid Karzai.