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Fresh Afghan Vote Fraud?

Election commission defies recommendations.

A runoff that seemed a chance to bolster the Afghan government's legitimacy after questionable elections is quickly turning into a potential disaster. United Nations officials are livid after Afghanistan's election commission announced it is expanding the number of polling locations in the runoff election, despite warnings from international observers that too many voting centers led to possible ballot-stuffing during the first election. One Western diplomat told the Guardian that the move was a "punch in the stomach, because everything we asked them to do they rejected." Afghan President Hamid Karzai's top opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, had committed to accepting the runoff provided that 500 polling sites were closed.