10 per cent of polling stations will be audited and recounted
The UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission has announced that due to possible irregularities, 2,500 of 26,300 Afghan polling stations must undergo recounts. This comes after other recounts were ordered last week for all stations with 100 per cent turnout or where one candidate got more than 95 per cent of votes. President Hamid Karzai’s office is demanding clarification for the reason behind the recounts, while rival candidate Abdullah Abdullah’s spokesman is calling for the voiding of 25 per cent of polling stations. Evidence of fraud has already led to the voiding of results from dozens of stations in provinces with the highest concentration of Karzai’s supporters.