Afghanistan's historic moment turned sour as all 15 challengers to interim Afghan President Hamid Karzai withdrew in the middle of voting in the nation's first direct presidential election today.
...The opposition candidates met at the house of Uzbek candidate Abdul Satar Sirat and signed a petition saying they would not recognise the vote results.
...They accused the government and the United Nations of fraud and incompetence which allowed people to cast more than one ballot.
...The boycott was a blow to the international community, which spent just under $120 million staging the vote.
...Taliban rebels got into a skirmish with US troops that left at least 25 insurgents dead, and managed to kill three Afghan policemen accompanying ballots back to a counting centre after the vote.
...Ray Kennedy, vice chairman of the joint U.N.-Afghan electoral panel, of the opposition demands: "There have been some technical problems but overall it has been safe and orderly."
Kennedy said it could take time for the electoral body to reach a decision on the vote's legitimacy.
...Even if the vote is ultimately validated, Karzai's ability to unite this nation, fight rampant warlordism and crush a lingering Taliban insurgency in the nation of 25 million might be fatally compromised if his opponents refuse to accept the results and insist that his rule is illegitimate.
...The opposition candidates met at the house of Uzbek candidate Abdul Satar Sirat and signed a petition saying they would not recognise the vote results.
...They accused the government and the United Nations of fraud and incompetence which allowed people to cast more than one ballot.
...The boycott was a blow to the international community, which spent just under $120 million staging the vote.
...Taliban rebels got into a skirmish with US troops that left at least 25 insurgents dead, and managed to kill three Afghan policemen accompanying ballots back to a counting centre after the vote.
...Ray Kennedy, vice chairman of the joint U.N.-Afghan electoral panel, of the opposition demands: "There have been some technical problems but overall it has been safe and orderly."
Kennedy said it could take time for the electoral body to reach a decision on the vote's legitimacy.
...Even if the vote is ultimately validated, Karzai's ability to unite this nation, fight rampant warlordism and crush a lingering Taliban insurgency in the nation of 25 million might be fatally compromised if his opponents refuse to accept the results and insist that his rule is illegitimate.
No comments:
Post a Comment