U.S. Treads Lightly on Alleged Afghan Fraud
On Monday, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl. W. Eikenberry warned President Hamid Karzai not to declare victory, as a U.N.-backed commission reported evidence of fraud at several polling stations and mandated a partial recount. Election officials have said that Karzai won 54.1 percent of the vote, allowing him to avoid a runoff election with Abdullah Abdullah, who they say won 28.3 percent.
"We realize that the allegations have reached such a level that we need to be very careful to allow the process to breathe," an administration official told the New York Times. "The message was, Let's make sure that the electoral bodies do their work, and do it rigorously."
Administration officials also said that Karzai could become alienated if outside observers continue to raise questions of fraud, making him less likely to work with the U.S. and its allies in the future. But complaints of election fraud have become so widespread that the Obama administration has no choice but to support the work of election officials looking into the allegations.
A possible solution to the electoral quagmire is for Karzai to give Abdullah a position in his new government. The runner-up may be reluctant to accept such a deal because it would keep him from condemning the vote as a fraud.
"Everybody's thinking about this," an administration official said. "It would be like getting Hillary Clinton to endorse Obama at the convention."
Read more at The New York Times.