Afghanistan’s August election was rigged according to Kai Eide, the head of the UN mission in that country. As many expected, President Hamid Karzai’s win is now considered a fraud, as Eide has identified “ghost polling stations” that returned fake ballots. Karzai initially won with 54 per cent of the vote, and the new result won’t be available for a few days. On Sunday, Eide denied that he initially covered up the fraud and of having a Karazi bias–claims made by the UN deputy to Afghanistan, Peter Galbraith. Eide calls Galbraith’s accusations a personal attack stemming from dinner conversations they had while Galbraith was a guest in his home. On Monday, Maulavi Mustafa Barakzia, one of two Afghan members of the UN-backed panel looking into the election, quit. Barakzia says the foreign members of the panel weren’t consulting with the Aghan members.
General
UN confirms Karzai’s win a fraud, amid more scandal
Head of the UN mission denies his own misconduct, and Afghan panel member quits