Second round of voting follows election fraud in Afghanistan by Zuzana Zelenakova

On November 7 people in Afghanistan will see a second round of voting after an election fraud has been discovered by UN backed panel of investigators. According to the findings President Hamid Karzai did not reach 50 percent, required to avoid the runoff, in the presidential poll on August 20. As President Karzai stated he respected completely the decision of the Independent Election Commission to organize a second round between himself and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. Hamid Karzai also appealed on the Afghan citizens to come to vote one more time in order to secure a stable future and unity for the country they live in. About 200 election chiefs have been fi! red so far and it will be quite difficult for the government to find proper and qualified replacements, especially when it comes to voting stations for women. "It is hard to see how a second round can be credible unless women's security and access to the polls is dramatically improved," said Rachel Reid, a researcher with Human Rights Watch in Kabul. Obviously US government has been relieved by President Karzai agreeing to the second round as Obama administration´s main goal in this case is legitimate government in Afghanistan that would come to power in a transparent, lawful way. "The international community is 100 percent committed to helping to carry out this election," said U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, "NATO is committed, ISAF is committed — in every way possible in order to make the runoff a success. We know that it will be difficult and it will require sacrifice, but we are committed to this effort." Successful completion of! elections is crucial for the Obama administration to get the ! public s upport in the US for the war in Afghanistan and thus to get rid of the Taliban threat.

related story (sgx15678): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091021/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanist...

by Zuzana Zelenakova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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