The Great Mother of aal Elections!

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   Afghan poll staff fired over fraud
Sunday 16 October 2005
A UN-backed election commission has dismissed about 50 of its staff for suspected fraud in last month's legislative polls, officials said, raising doubts about the legitimacy of Afghanistan's final formal step towards democracy. 
About 680 ballot boxes, almost 3% of the total, have been taken out of the counting process because of suspicions they were stuffed, said Richard Atwood, chief of operations for the joint UN-Afghan election commission. 
But he said, "the fraud that has occurred does not affect the integrity of the election" and ruled out a re-count. 
"The fraud is not systematic or widespread across the country," Atwood told reporters in Kabul. Election organisers have "done all we can to ensure this fraud is caught."
When asked how many of the staff have been dismissed because of fraud, he said, "approximately 50," without elaborating. 
Atwood said investigations into the fraud had slowed the counting of the ballots. 

Protests
Almost a month after the 18 September vote, provisional results have only been published in 20 of the 34 provinces. 
Accusations of irregularities in the count have sparked demonstrations in several cities, including the capital, Kabul. 
"These elections no longer have any meaning. So many bribes have been given. Some candidates have bought their way to power," said Bashir Bezhen, an official with the state Ariana airlines who stood as an independent candidate in Kabul but lost. 
"The counters were shameless in their work. They were like businessmen, making deals with whoever had money. There should be a re-count."
Many of those who have been declared winners in the provisional results are suspected regional commanders, including Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a powerful militia leader who New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused of war crimes. 
Ex-Taliban elected
Electoral law bars anyone with links to armed groups from competing; but with nearly 2800 candidates, activists say many of the regional commanders involved in the bloodshed of the past quarter-century have slipped through a UN-backed review they call woefully inadequate. 
At least two former members of the Taliban have been elected, according to the results. 
One is Abdul Salaam Rocketi, a front-line general who spent eight months in US detention and now actively encourages other Taliban members to reconcile with the government. 
Another is Mawlawi Mohammed Islam Mohammadi, the ex-Taliban governor in Bamiyan province where members of the former regime in 2001 blew up two giant 1500-year-old Buddha statues because they claimed they were an affront to Islam. 
Suspected smugglers detained
Meanwhile, Afghan police have arrested two British nationals, an American and an Indian, all with fake badges for the Nato-led peacekeeping force, on weapons smuggling charges, officials said on Sunday.

The men were arrested on Wednesday with two Afghans who were allegedly their accomplices, Interior Ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai told AFP. 
"The foreign citizens are civilians and are working for a construction company. They were arrested with five AK-47 machine guns and two pistols," he said. 
The men were carrying fake badges for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) of peacekeepers deployed in the capital and northern and western Afghanistan, an intelligence official said. 
"They were carrying fake ISAF badges and they were smuggling out Russian weapons and drugs," he said. 
British embassy spokesman Keith Scott said late on Saturday that two British nationals had been arrested and were receiving consular assistance. He could not give details of the charges against them or details of the arrest.
Actual extent of the fraud is much bigger. Three percent is a token action in response to public outcry across the country. 
I know what those people will post here who pretend to know and swear more love for our country than even the whole lot of us put together!!
I know!

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Whisper Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Male Joined: 25 July 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 4752	Post Options Post Reply Quote Whisper Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: The Great Mother of aal Elections! Posted: 16 October 2005 at 8:57am
	Afghan poll staff fired over fraud Sunday 16 October 2005 A UN-backed election commission has dismissed about 50 of its staff for suspected fraud in last month's legislative polls, officials said, raising doubts about the legitimacy of Afghanistan's final formal step towards democracy. About 680 ballot boxes, almost 3% of the total, have been taken out of the counting process because of suspicions they were stuffed, said Richard Atwood, chief of operations for the joint UN-Afghan election commission. But he said, "the fraud that has occurred does not affect the integrity of the election" and ruled out a re-count. "The fraud is not systematic or widespread across the country," Atwood told reporters in Kabul. Election organisers have "done all we can to ensure this fraud is caught." When asked how many of the staff have been dismissed because of fraud, he said, "approximately 50," without elaborating. Atwood said investigations into the fraud had slowed the counting of the ballots. Protests Almost a month after the 18 September vote, provisional results have only been published in 20 of the 34 provinces. Accusations of irregularities in the count have sparked demonstrations in several cities, including the capital, Kabul. "These elections no longer have any meaning. So many bribes have been given. Some candidates have bought their way to power," said Bashir Bezhen, an official with the state Ariana airlines who stood as an independent candidate in Kabul but lost. "The counters were shameless in their work. They were like businessmen, making deals with whoever had money. There should be a re-count." Many of those who have been declared winners in the provisional results are suspected regional commanders, including Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a powerful militia leader who New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused of war crimes. Ex-Taliban elected Electoral law bars anyone with links to armed groups from competing; but with nearly 2800 candidates, activists say many of the regional commanders involved in the bloodshed of the past quarter-century have slipped through a UN-backed review they call woefully inadequate. At least two former members of the Taliban have been elected, according to the results. One is Abdul Salaam Rocketi, a front-line general who spent eight months in US detention and now actively encourages other Taliban members to reconcile with the government. Another is Mawlawi Mohammed Islam Mohammadi, the ex-Taliban governor in Bamiyan province where members of the former regime in 2001 blew up two giant 1500-year-old Buddha statues because they claimed they were an affront to Islam. Suspected smugglers detained Meanwhile, Afghan police have arrested two British nationals, an American and an Indian, all with fake badges for the Nato-led peacekeeping force, on weapons smuggling charges, officials said on Sunday. The men were arrested on Wednesday with two Afghans who were allegedly their accomplices, Interior Ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai told AFP. "The foreign citizens are civilians and are working for a construction company. They were arrested with five AK-47 machine guns and two pistols," he said. The men were carrying fake badges for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) of peacekeepers deployed in the capital and northern and western Afghanistan, an intelligence official said. "They were carrying fake ISAF badges and they were smuggling out Russian weapons and drugs," he said. British embassy spokesman Keith Scott said late on Saturday that two British nationals had been arrested and were receiving consular assistance. He could not give details of the charges against them or details of the arrest. Actual extent of the fraud is much bigger. Three percent is a token action in response to public outcry across the country. I know what those people will post here who pretend to know and swear more love for our country than even the whole lot of us put together!! I know!