Focus Shifting to ECC Ordered Audit

International Election Observation
Mission to Afghanistan
Legislative Elections 2010

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 by jober - Complaints, Democracy International, Election Administration

With the IEC tallying process nearly complete, the focus now shifts to the ECC ordered audit of suspicious polling stations.

Yesterday, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) released preliminary results from 91.6 percent of polling stations with 54.1 percent of valid votes cast in favor of President Hamid Karzai for a total of 2,959,093 votes. The preliminary results show Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, President Karzai’s main competitor, receiving 28.3 percent of valid votes for a total of 1,546,490 votes. While the results appear to show President Karzai with a sizable lead which would allow him to avoid a second round runoff election, the reality is far more complicated.

Prior to the IEC’s release of preliminary results, the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) issued an order to conduct an audit and recount of ballots cast at polling stations which meet one of two criteria. According the ECC order, if the total number of votes cast at a polling station is greater than or equal to 600 or one presidential candidate received 95 percent or more of the total valid votes cast than that polling station should be audited and recounted.

It’s important to understand that the audit itself is only one step in the ECC investigative procedure and that each polling station will be addressed on the basis of whether or not clear and convincing evidence of fraud exists. According to the IEC’s rules governing results audits, investigation teams may inspect results and reconciliation forms, ballot paper packing, polling station journals, and the actual count of ballots. If investigative teams uncover clear and convincing evidence of fraud at a given polling station, the ECC will be forced to decide on an appropriate corrective course of action.

It is likely that the IEC will complete the process of releasing preliminary results on Saturday, September 12. At that point, it will be possible to determine the total number of polling stations which meet the ECC’s audit criteria and in effect, the total number of votes at stake. Until then, however, only speculation is possible. Based on polling station level data released by the IEC on September 2, it is likely that at least 2,000 polling stations will be audited which could amount to more than 450,000 votes. It is conceivable that the results of the ECC ordered audit could reduce President Karzai’s margin of victory below the critical 50 percent threshold to avoid a second round runoff.

Also of concern is the diminishing number of polling stations being reported by the IEC. Since August 31, the IEC has held three press conferences to release preliminary results. Over that period, the total number of polling stations has decreased by 2,443. It is unclear what this number represents. While it may simply represent the IEC’s discovery of polling stations that did not in fact open on Election Day, it could also include polling stations where the IEC has annulled results or polling stations which the IEC is conducting investigations of, in which case the number of total polling stations may actually increase at the end of the investigative process. An explanation from the IEC which addresses this ambiguity would be welcome.

Complying with the ECC ordered recount could take weeks and significant complications could emerge throughout the process. At this stage, the IEC has not released details regarding an audit and recount operation and until they do so it will not be possible to estimate how much longer Afghans will have to wait for certified election results. It is clear, however, that the IEC is unlikely to meet the initial projected date of September 17 for the release of official certified election results.

1 Comment to 'Focus Shifting to ECC Ordered Audit'

Akhtar Qassimyar
January 29, 2010

January 28, 2010
Akhtar Qassimyar, M.D.
16829 Silver Crest Drive
San Diego, CA 92127, USA

To All the Nations Attending Afghanistan’s Conference in London,
Dear Sirs,
You should be advised that the only solution to Afghanistan’s current multiple problems of violence, drugs, corruption, oppression and human right abuses is to end the occupation and remove the puppet and despicable Karzai government in its entirety.
As a matter of fact Afghanistan has been occupied by the Anglo-American aggression since 2001, and the invaders imposed a puppet Karzai government in the past eight years. Karzai who is a long-term CIA spy failed to rule the country and his government is the worst government in the entire world for the reasons set forth as follows:
1- The Anglo-American Karzai government is the second most corrupt government out of 192 countries in the world.
2- The invader’s Karzai government is number one in opium production and heroin trafficking in the entire world.
3- During the puppet Karzai government, Afghanistan is the most violent and unsafe country in the world.
4- The invader’s Karzai government is an oppressive government which is imposed against the will of Afghan people in a fraudulent election.
Afghanistan people do not expect any good from the invaders and their allies, but harm and destruction of Afghanistan in term of violence, corruption, drugs and human right abuses, in which both Karzai and the invaders are directly involved and responsible for all these four despicable disasters.
Afghan people know the history of the USA which was made on the foreign soil of native American and occupied the natives’ homelands under the slogan of manifest destiny, freedom and democracy, and Afghan people also know the fact that the British empire robbed and stolen the Kooh-i-noor priceless diamond from Afghanistan in 1850, which is now in the Tower of London.
The occupiers have specific geopolitical objectives in Afghanistan, and the Anglo-American’s claim of fighting against terrorism in Afghanistan is not true on the ground that Al-Qaeda is fighting to liberate Palestine and force to withdraw the Anglo-American military bases which support single families governments in the oil rich states in the Arab peninsula. Al-Qaeda is everywhere in the world and fighting for Arab issues and has nothing to do with Afghanistan.
The conference countries in London should increase pressure on the invaders to end the occupation and all foreign troops should leave Afghanistan as soon as possible. Afghan people can not get rid of corruption, violence, drugs and oppression as long as the occupation exist and the invader-made Karzai MFIA government rules the country.
The attending countries should not work for the interest of the invaders to support the Karzai government and donate for occupation in order to increase bloodshed of the innocent Afghan people.
Some attending countries like Japan and Germany which are still under occupation and do not have full independence, should be sympathetic with Afghan people and should not send more troops for killing the Afghan people or money to prolong the occupation.
Based on the foregoing, the only solution to Afghanistan’s current problems of violence, drugs, corruption, oppression and human right abuses is to end the occupation and remove the invaders’ Karzai government in its entirety.
Sending more soldiers or money to Afghanistan will increase the ongoing bloodshed, drugs, corruption and oppression and will not help the Afghans’ miserable lives.. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Akhtar Qassimyar, M.D.

Focus Shifting to ECC Ordered Audit

1 Comment to 'Focus Shifting to ECC Ordered Audit'

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