Partial recount ordered for Afghanistan’s presidential vote
Afghanistan’s Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) has ordered a recount (pdf, 150kb) of selected polling stations in light of “clear and convincing evidence of fraud” in the August 20 presidential election. The order said that at those polling stations where evidence of fraud was found, investigations turned up a “clear pattern” of “either an exceptionally high number of presidential votes cast per station in relation to the number of ballots available; an exceptionally high percentage of ballots cast for only one candidate; or both.”
Accordingly, the ECC ordered Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC), which administers elections, to conduct audits and recounts of polling stations where 600 or more votes were cast, indicating a 100 percent turnout for that location, or where any single candidate received more than 95 percent of the vote.
The ECC is an independent, five-member commission established under Article 52 of Afghanistan’s electoral law (pdf, 78kb) with the authority (pdf, 87kb) to order recounts, impose fines, and bar offenders from holding elected office for up to 10 years. Two national commissioners – one appointed by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and one by the Supreme Court of Afghanistan – and three international members appointed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations make up the commission.