Abdullah Abdullah

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Karzai Took Major Arm-Twisting to OK Runoff

Round 2 of Afghan election no panacea, either

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai's concession yesterday that an election runoff was necessary may have brought Afghanistan back from political paralysis, but another ballot is no sure solution. The potential for fraud—more than a quarter of first round ballots were thrown out—has not abated, the New York Times notes. Today Abdullah...

Karzai Challenger Rejects Plan to Share Power

Abdullah wants interim government: 'Karzai's term is over'

(Newser) - Abdullah Abdullah, who came in second in the first round of Afghanistan's presidential election, is calling for an interim government to take over the country if it's too difficult or dangerous to organize a runoff in the coming weeks. The challenger to Hamid Karzai also rejected suggestions of a power-sharing...

Karzai Accepts UN Recount, Runoff Looms

Runoff election looms as prez bows to pressure

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai will bow to international pressure and accept the results of a UN-backed recount of Afghanistan's presidential election, US and European officials tell the New York Times. The incumbent will publicly acknowledge he fell short of 50% of the first-round vote as early as today, setting the stage for...

Clinton 'Hopeful' as Karzai Weighs Runoff, Deal

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai intends to announce tomorrow how he will "set the stage" for resolving the country's postelection political crisis, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today. She wouldn't say whether the Afghan president has decided to accept the findings of a UN-backed fraud investigation that threw out nearly a...

Karzai Allies Get Tough on Recount

Afghan president's team blasts UN-backed election body

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai's camp is signaling he may not accept the results of a recount from Afghanistan's presidential election, sowing further doubt about the country's future. A spokesman said the recount process had been "politically manipulated," and Karzai allies spent the weekend criticizing the UN-backed electoral commission that is...

Afghan Election Now Headed for Runoff

'Stunning' second ballot complicates Obama strategy

(Newser) - President Hamid Karzai's share of the vote in Afghanistan's presidential election has reportedly fallen to about 47% after an investigation into fraudulent ballots—meaning that he will face Abdullah Abdullah in a runoff if the result is finalized today. One Afghan official called the development "stunning," and a...

Afghan Vote's True Winner: The Taliban
 Afghan Vote's True 
 Winner: The Taliban 
ANALYSIS
Sep 21, 2009 5:57 AM CDT

Afghan Vote's True Winner: The Taliban

Chaos and corruption aid insurgents' propaganda campaign

(Newser) - It's still not evident whether Hamid Karzai will avoid a runoff in Afghanistan's presidential vote, but the winner of the election is clear: the Taliban. Delays in tallying and alleged systemic fraud have given the insurgency new material for a sophisticated propaganda campaign that portrays the Karzai administration as corrupt...

Karzai Working on Deals With Challengers

Power-sharing agreement may be in the works

(Newser) - The Afghanistan election has turned into such a mess that President Hamid Karzai is discussing some kind of partnership with at least two of his challengers, the Wall Street Journal reports. His camp and that of top challenger Abdullah Abdullah are talking through third parties, while Karzai also has reached...

Recounts Ordered at 2,500 Afghan Voting Sites

Total could drop Karzai low enough to require a run-off

(Newser) - A UN-backed monitoring body ordered Afghanistan's election commission to recount ballots from about 10% of the country's polling stations because of suspicious totals in last month's presidential vote, the AP reports. The recount order raises the possibility that President Hamid Karzai's lead could drop below the 50% threshold, forcing the...

Afghans Stock Up on Guns After Disputed Election

Political turmoil sends 'Kalashnikov Index' soaring

(Newser) - The price of a smuggled Kalashnikov assault rifle in Afghanistan has more than doubled in recent weeks amid rising political turbulence, Time reports. Last month's election is widely believed to have been rigged in favor of President Hamid Karzai, and many fear challenger Abdullah Abdullah and the warlords he represents...

Karzai Team Forged All 24K Ballots in 1 District: Charge

Afghan president's campaign allegedly detained tribal leader, closed polls

(Newser) - Tribal leaders in southern Afghanistan make the strongest allegations yet of ballot fraud, telling Dexter Filkins of the New York Times that in their district, "Hamid Karzai's people stuffed all the ballot boxes." Members of the Bariz tribe, who endorsed challenger Abdullah Abdullah, say aides to Karzai's brother—...

Karzai Widens Lead in New Poll Returns

He's up 45% to 35%, but only 17% of votes have been counted

(Newser) - President Hamid Karzai extended his lead over his top challenger in Afghanistan's presidential election, but he remained short of the 50% threshold that would allow him to avoid a two-man runoff. With only 17% of the vote counted, Karzai has 44.8%, while Abdullah Abdullah has 35.1%. The count...

US Afghan Toll Mounts; 2009 Deadliest for Foreign Troops

(Newser) - A busy, bloody day in Afghanistan:
  • Five car bombs detonated simultaneously in Kandahar, killing at least 30 people and injuring more than 50, reports the AP.
  • That follows news of a blast in southern Afghanistan that killed four US troops, bringing to 41 the number of American deaths in August.
...

Under Pressure, Afghans Pledge Results Within Day

(Newser) - With the leading opposition candidate further hinting at election fraud, and international observers not exactly disagreeing, officials in Afghanistan say they’ll release preliminary results tomorrow from last week’s voting. But even that could raise tensions, the Los Angeles Times reports, as Abdullah Abdullah claims there’s no way...

Karzai Stole Afghanistan Election: Rival

With early vote count due Tuesday, Abdullah alleges fraud

(Newser) - Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai’s strongest political rival in the Afghan presidential race, is charging his opponent with engineering widespread voter fraud in the southern and eastern regions, the Guardian reports. A watchdog group controlled by international officials, which says the official election commission is controlled by Karzai supporters, has...

Messy Afghan Election Gives White House New Headache

(Newser) - White House hopes that the Afghan election would show the country's progress toward stability have been dashed, as the voting instead highlighted the challenges Afghanistan faces, the New York Times reports. With a runoff between President Karzai and challenger Adbullah Abdullah on the horizon, observers complain of fraud, ballot stuffing...

Karzai, Rival Both Claim Victory
 Karzai, Rival Both Claim Victory 
AFGHAN ELECTION
Aug 21, 2009 5:09 AM CDT

Karzai, Rival Both Claim Victory

(Newser) - As Afghanistan gets down to the difficult job of counting ballots from 6,200 polling stations, both Hamid Karzai and his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah havd claimed victory in the presidential race. No confirmed results have been released, but a Karzai staffer said reports from election monitors indicate that the...

Afghan Polls Close; Taliban Attacks Dampen Turnout

(Newser) - With polls now closed, Taliban threats appeared to have dampened voter turnout in the militant south in today's Afghanistan election. Insurgents launched scattered rocket, suicide, and bomb attacks that closed some polling sites. After 10 hours of voting, including a last-minute, one-hour extension, election workers began to count the millions...

'Indelible' Ink Washes Off, Afghan Candidates Charge

(Newser) - The supposedly indelible ink used to mark voters' fingers in today's Afghanistan election rubs off easily with household detergent, raising fears of widespread ballot fraud. Campaigners for Abdullah Abdullah, the main opposition candidate, found they could remove the ink with minimal effort, and a Guardian journalist scrubbed his finger clean...

Your Guide to the Afghan Election

Profiles of the top 4 candidates in a turbulent country

(Newser) - Torn by war and insurgency, Afghanistan votes for its next president tomorrow, choosing from among 37 candidates. NPR profiles the frontrunners:
  • Hamid Karzai. The incumbent, a member of Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group, was elected in 2005 amid a swell of international backing. But lately the former activist’s popularity
...

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