Problems plague Afghan presidential vote recount

KABUL (AP) — Efforts to resolve Afghanistan’s fraud-marred presidential election suffered new setbacks Monday when one of two Afghans on the commission looking into alleged cheating resigned over “foreign interference,” and U.N. officials acknowledged that errors and miscommunication had plagued the investigation.

Allegations of widespread fraud in the Aug. 20 balloting threaten to scuttle the international strategy to combat the burgeoning Taliban insurgency at a time when public support for the war in the United States and Western Europe is waning.

The U.S. and its international partners are anxious for a U.N.-backed commission to wrap up its investigation into fraud charges and determine whether President Hamid Karzai won or must face second-place finisher Abdullah Abdullah in a runoff.

One of the two Afghans on the commission, Maulavi Mustafa Barakzai, said he was resigning because the three foreigners on the panel — one American, one Canadian and one Dutch — were “making all decisions on their own.”

A spokeswoman for the Electoral Complaints Commission, Nellika Little, rejected Barakzai’s allegation, saying the Afghan commissioner “was an integral part of the commission” and took part “equally in all commissioner meetings.” She said the resignation “will not distract” the group from completing its investigation.

Barakzai would not elaborate on his allegations against his non- Afghan colleagues, and it appeared the highly public resignation might be a bid by Karzai’s supporters to discredit the commission.

Preliminary results released last month showed Karzai winning with about 54 percent of the vote. If the complaints commission voids enough ballots, Karzai could be forced into a runoff if his percentage falls below 50 percent.

Reporters were told of Barakzai’s resignation and his news conference by members of the Karzai campaign. Barakzai was appointed by the Afghan Supreme Court, whose judges were named to their posts by the president.