EU Wants Afghan Election Fraud Probe
The European Union is pushing for an investigation into "all fraud allegations" during Afghanistan's elections, Germany's foreign minister said Tuesday.
The call by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier reflects increased concerns among EU nations over the Aug. 20 vote and comes on the same day as a U.N. monitoring body in Kabul ordered a recount from about 10 percent of Afghan polling stations because of suspicious totals.
The 27-nation EU has already backed off its initial positive assessment of the Afghan elections. The bloc fears that doubts about the Afghan regime's electoral legitimacy would make it even more difficult to justify spending billions in EU aid and military help for Afghanistan to taxpayers at home.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told reporters amid EU talks here that the EU "needs to have the most credible results as possible" to ensure trust in a new government.
"We will press for an investigation of all fraud allegations," Steinmeier said. "It is important that the elected president is recognized and respected by the entire population of Afghanistan."
The 200 EU election observers in Afghanistan raised alarm last week in Kabul over "the very large number of irregularities" during the presidential balloting, noting "large scale ballot stuffing" at hundreds of polling stations.
Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who chaired Tuesday's foreign minister talks, said the allegations "must all be dealt with."
"Our sincere hope is that it will result in an election result seen as credible by the Afghans themselves," Bildt said.
Steinmeier said the elections marked "a turning point" for Afghanistan, which also included a revamp of the EU's civilian aid strategy. The United States and NATO are also reviewing their military plans amid a resurgent Taliban.
The EU ministers agreed two weeks ago that the bloc will need to step up its aid efforts in Afghanistan due to increasing Taliban attacks. Bildt said EU nations are aiming to agree on a renewed aid strategy next month.
The ministers acknowledged that current efforts are not effective enough to address the widescale poverty and insecurity in the Central Asian nation.
A draft of the new EU strategy recommends a tougher line on tackling corruption and ineffective aid projects and boosting European money to help train police, judges, and other civil servants.
EU member states have spent more than euro9 billion ($13 billion) in aid to Afghanistan since 2002, mostly in propping up the government's finances and supporting U.N. projects.
The EU has about 400 police trainers in Afghanistan, and many members contribute troops to NATO's security mission there. It has sent judges and judicial experts to improve the rule of law and paid for projects to improve health care and education.
The draft suggests creating an EU-funded training center for civil servants, improving Afghan border controls and crafting a more effective anti-narcotics plan. It also recommends much closer coordination with other donors like Japan, the U.S., China and Pakistan.