The Scotsman
By Jerome Starkey in Kabul

THE international community is backtracking on its praise of Afghanistan’s elections last week, as evidence and anecdotes of spectacular fraud threaten to undermine it.

Preliminary results yesterday gave incumbent Hamid Karzai a 2 per cent lead on his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah. But neither man is close to the 51 per cent needed to win outright in the first round, suggesting a run-off in October.

The results, from only 10 per cent of the votes, comes after days of speculation led by Mr Karzai’s campaign manager, Haji Deen Mohammed, who claimed the president had won outright with almost 70 per cent.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC), branded “incompetent and corrupt” moments before the announcement, said 524,444 votes showed Mr Karzai had 41 per cent and Dr Abdullah 39 per cent.

As polls closed on Thursday, Western politicians congratulated the people of Afghanistan on what Barack Obama described as a “successful election”.

British diplomats claimed it was a “bad day for the Taleban,” – but the credibility of such comments is in doubt as six leading candidates yesterday warned that widespread fraud could spark more violence.

Turnout as low as 8 per cent in provinces such as Helmand, where the insurgency is strongest, suggested the Taleban succeeded in disrupting the polls. (Read more)