KABUL, Oct 9, 2010 (AFP) - Afghanistan's election commission on Saturday raised to 442 the number of polling centres where it said votes had been cancelled owing to fraud in last month's parliamentary poll.
“In total the Independent Election Commission has nullified part or all votes from 442 polling centres and has so far ordered an audit and recount at 828 polling centres,” IEC chairman Fazil Ahmad Manawi told reporters.
“With the electoral commission still looking into a variety of suspicious fraud allegations, more polling centres may be declared invalid in the coming days.”The announcement followed news that votes from 227 polling centres had been invalidated in Afghanistan's second parliamentary election since a 2001 US-led invasion overthrew the Taliban regime.
More than 2,500 people stood for the 249 seats in Afghanistan's lower house of parliament, or Wolesi Jirga. Over four million votes were cast at the 5,510 polling stations that opened across Afghanistan on election day.
The IEC has not released an overall number of cancelled votes, but election authorities have said 1,200 to 7,200 ballot papers were cast at each centre. The September 18 election was clouded by Taliban violence and claims of fraud. Hundreds of polling centres were unable to open because of insecurity. |
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