Afghanistan election

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Karzai Widens Lead in New Poll Returns

He's up 45% to 35%, but only 17% of votes have been counted

(Newser) - President Hamid Karzai extended his lead over his top challenger in Afghanistan's presidential election, but he remained short of the 50% threshold that would allow him to avoid a two-man runoff. With only 17% of the vote counted, Karzai has 44.8%, while Abdullah Abdullah has 35.1%. The count...

Under Pressure, Afghans Pledge Results Within Day

(Newser) - With the leading opposition candidate further hinting at election fraud, and international observers not exactly disagreeing, officials in Afghanistan say they’ll release preliminary results tomorrow from last week’s voting. But even that could raise tensions, the Los Angeles Times reports, as Abdullah Abdullah claims there’s no way...

Afghan Elections a Setback for Women

Low female turnout could mean leaders even less responsive to women

(Newser) - For women, Afghanistan's recent elections appear to have been more of a setback than a step forward. Early reports strongly suggest that voter turnout fell more sharply for women than for men in last week's polls. Election observers blame Taliban attacks, a dearth of female election workers, and the closure...

Karzai Stole Afghanistan Election: Rival

With early vote count due Tuesday, Abdullah alleges fraud

(Newser) - Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai’s strongest political rival in the Afghan presidential race, is charging his opponent with engineering widespread voter fraud in the southern and eastern regions, the Guardian reports. A watchdog group controlled by international officials, which says the official election commission is controlled by Karzai supporters, has...

Taliban Chops Off Fingers of Afghan Voters

(Newser) - The Taliban is following through on its threat to chop off the fingers of Afghan voters, the Los Angeles Times reports. In southern Afghanistan, considered the most hazardous place for Afghans to vote, militants attacked two voters and cut off their ink-dyed fingers, authorities said. A third case is under...

Messy Afghan Election Gives White House New Headache

(Newser) - White House hopes that the Afghan election would show the country's progress toward stability have been dashed, as the voting instead highlighted the challenges Afghanistan faces, the New York Times reports. With a runoff between President Karzai and challenger Adbullah Abdullah on the horizon, observers complain of fraud, ballot stuffing...

Karzai, Rival Both Claim Victory
 Karzai, Rival Both Claim Victory 
AFGHAN ELECTION
Aug 21, 2009 5:09 AM CDT

Karzai, Rival Both Claim Victory

(Newser) - As Afghanistan gets down to the difficult job of counting ballots from 6,200 polling stations, both Hamid Karzai and his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah havd claimed victory in the presidential race. No confirmed results have been released, but a Karzai staffer said reports from election monitors indicate that the...

Figuring Winner Will Be Tough Part in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Although Afghanistan managed to avoid widespread election-day bloodshed yesterday, the hard part is yet to come, Laura King writes for the Los Angeles Times: deciding who won. First, officials first must conclude whether voting was free and fair enough to make results credible. Already, an early sketch promised for Saturday...

Afghan Polls Close; Taliban Attacks Dampen Turnout

(Newser) - With polls now closed, Taliban threats appeared to have dampened voter turnout in the militant south in today's Afghanistan election. Insurgents launched scattered rocket, suicide, and bomb attacks that closed some polling sites. After 10 hours of voting, including a last-minute, one-hour extension, election workers began to count the millions...

'Indelible' Ink Washes Off, Afghan Candidates Charge

(Newser) - The supposedly indelible ink used to mark voters' fingers in today's Afghanistan election rubs off easily with household detergent, raising fears of widespread ballot fraud. Campaigners for Abdullah Abdullah, the main opposition candidate, found they could remove the ink with minimal effort, and a Guardian journalist scrubbed his finger clean...

Afghan Polls Open as Race Tightens

In test of country's stability, Karzai faces Taliban violence, 34 challengers

(Newser) - As polls open in Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai's chances of claiming enough of the vote to avoid a runoff no longer look like a sure thing, the New York Times reports. Voter intimidation by the Taliban, a surge in popularity by one of Karzai's opponents, and limited election monitoring could conspire...

Your Guide to the Afghan Election

Profiles of the top 4 candidates in a turbulent country

(Newser) - Torn by war and insurgency, Afghanistan votes for its next president tomorrow, choosing from among 37 candidates. NPR profiles the frontrunners:
  • Hamid Karzai. The incumbent, a member of Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group, was elected in 2005 amid a swell of international backing. But lately the former activist’s popularity
...

Taliban Battle Police in Kabul on Election Eve

(Newser) - Taliban fighters wearing explosive-laced vests stormed a government-run bank in central Kabul today, precipitating an hours-long shootout with Afghan forces 24 hours before the presidential election. A Taliban source said that 20 militants had entered Kabul, a day after a suicide bomb and a rocket attack rocked the capital. Afghan...

Afghanistan Forbids Reports on Election Violence

Karzai government says gag will 'control the negative impact of the media'

(Newser) - The Afghan government ordered journalists to stay silent on any insurgent attacks that may happen during the presidential election Thursday, the Guardian reports. The gag order is necessary in order “to encourage people and raise their morale to come out and vote,” said a spokesman for President Karzai....

Taliban Peace Talks Dominate Afghan Race

(Newser) - As Afghans prepare to vote on Thursday, the top issue for all the leading presidential candidates remains whether and how to negotiate with the Taliban. Hamid Karzai, still predicted to win, has made vocal calls for negotiations but has done little so far in office, and Taliban insurgents are imperiling...

Taliban Threaten to Mutilate Afghan Voters

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai's battle for reelection on Thursday is facing a significant hurdle: threats by the Taliban to mutilate anyone who shows up at the polls. Insurgents are strongest in Pashtun regions, normally a Karzai stronghold, and in one town a group of Taliban fighters told citizens anyone who votes will...

Afghanistan Legalizes Starving Wives Who Refuse Sex

(Newser) - Afghan lawmakers have passed a new law requiring women to submit to their husbands' sexual demands or be starved, reports the BBC. The new law is an amended version of a bill that forced women to have sex with their husbands at least every four days, and completely removed a...

Prez Hopefuls Offer Change Afghanistan Can Believe In

Candidates mimic Obama campaign

(Newser) - Which presidential candidate has a lock on the words "hope" and "change"? These days, it's Afghan challenger Abdullah Abdullah, whose Obamaesque website—complete with scrolling news feeds, photo and video galleries, and social networking links—exhorts voters to "join the campaign to change Afghanistan." As...

August Is a Snooze— Unless These Crises Hit

Iran, Afghanistan won't spend summer snoozing

(Newser) - August is a snooze—except when it isn't, writes Anne Applebaum for the Washington Post, who points out that World War I and Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait began in the eighth month. For the benefit of "the interns who are manning the shop while everyone is out of...

US Said to Press Secret Afghan Election Deal

Holbrooke allegedly talked to candidate about dropping out

(Newser) - With two weeks to go before the Afghanistan election, President Hamid Karzai is trying to cut a deal with a fellow Pashtun to help knock his main challenger out of the race. The Independent reports that American envoy Richard Holbrooke and the US ambassador have pushed for the deal, which...

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