Evidence of fraud could force Afghan runoff election

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Source: McClatchy Newspapers

Evidence of fraud could force Afghan runoff election
By Hal Bernton, McClatchy Newspapers Mon Oct 12, 12:41 pm ET

KABUL, Afghanistan — A member of the panel investigating the widespread allegations of fraud in Afghanistan's August 20 presidential election resigned Monday and charged that United Nations officials have interfered in the probe, a possible indication that Afghan Pres. Hamid Karzai may be forced into a runoff against his former foreign minister.

Maulavi Mustafa Barakzai, who was appointed to the panel by Afghanistan's Supreme Court , which is comprised largely of Karzai loyalists, told McClatchy that he resigned out of frustration with what he called "foreign interference" by U.N. officials in the effort to determine how many questionable votes should be tossed out.

The results of the review are expected to be announced later this week.

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If enough questionable votes are discounted, Karzai's final tally could slip to 50 percent or below, forcing him into a runoff against his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah , a former foreign minister who has strong support among ethnic minorities in northern Afghanistan .

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20091012/wl_mcclatchy/3331417