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Afghan Commission Releases Final Poll Results, Minus One Province

   VOA News 24 November 2010
   Afghan  President  Hamid Karzai, during a speech about women's rights,
   in Kabul, Afghanistan, 24 Nov 2010

Photo: AP

   Afghan  President  Hamid Karzai, during a speech about women's rights,
   in Kabul, Afghanistan, 24 Nov 2010

   Afghan  election  officials  have  released  the  final results of the
   country's September parliamentary elections for all but one province.
   The  Independent  Election Commission announced Wednesday that results
   in   volatile   Ghazni  province  must  still  be  determined  due  to
   complications.
   The  results  of the September 18 vote were originally set for release
   in  October, but were delayed pending investigations into thousands of
   complaints of fraud.
   The  commission  announced  Wednesday that three more election winners
   have  been  disqualified  because  of fraud, bringing the total to 24.
   Election authorities have also invalidated nearly a quarter of the 5.6
   million votes cast.
   Candidates  in the poll protested against the irregularities Wednesday
   in Kabul.
   IEC   Chairman   Fazel   Ahmad  Manawi  Wednesday  ruled  out  staging
   re-elections, but did not specify whether that also applied to Ghazni.
   The  vote  for  the  249-seat  parliament  has been closely watched by
   Afghanistan's  Western  allies  for  signs that Afghan President Hamid
   Karzai is committed to reforming his corruption-ridden government.
   The  election  was  marred  by reports of intimidation and coercion of
   voters  by  local warlords, ballot-stuffing, repeat voting and the use
   of fake voter identification cards.
   There  were  also  widespread  reports  of  fraud  during  last year's
   presidential  vote  in  Afghanistan.   Roughly one-third of the votes
   cast  for President Karzai were thrown out by the Electoral Complaints
   Commission.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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