Afghan President Hamid Karzai claimed victory in Afghanistan’s presidential election as preliminary results released by the independent election commission (IEC) showed he had enough votes to avoid a run-off with his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. Karzai praised the Afghan people for their courage in the face of Taliban intimidation. But observers increasingly point to fraud on a scale that might put the results in doubt. The election complaints commission, headed by Canadian Grant Kippen, is charged with investigating cases of electoral fraud and has ordered a recount of ballots from some districts. Abdullah, in an interview with the BBC 8 September, said the IEC was anything but independent, and that the election was being stolen from the Afghan people. Afghanistan News, BBC, Toronto Globe & Mail

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