Kabul Throws Out Quarter of Votes

Afghanistan’s election commission has thrown out 1.3 million of 5.6 million ballots cast in the country’s September 18 parliamentary elections due to voter fraud. The elections were closely scrutinized following the widely criticized 2009 presidential election, in which clearly illegitimate vote tallies helped give President Hamid Karzai another term. An Afghan fraud investigation panel has yet to rule on more than 2,000 serious fraud complaints, and 224 of the 2,500 candidates for office have been referred to the panel under suspicion of cheating. Results from the September elections will determine the makeup of Afghanistan’s parliament.