Major Fraud in Afghan Elections

It’s too early to officially tell if Afghanistan will face a presidential run-off, but it is already apparent that there are more reported cases of significant fraud than there were in the 2009 election. Only 10 percent of the vote has been tabulated from the April 5 election, and it looks like the two leading presidential candidates, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, may be heading toward a run-off. The Independent Election Commission warned, though, that not only could these results change, but the 870 cases of fraud at the polls in this year’s elections could potentially significantly skew the outcome. While some cases of election fraud were subtle, others were pretty bold. In one reported instance, a member of parliament forced his way into a polling place at gunpoint and stole the ballot boxes.