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U.N. Proposal Fails to Ease Crisis Over Disputed Afghan Election U.N. Proposal Fails to Ease Crisis Over Disputed Afghan Election
(about 2 months later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — With the viability of the Afghan government at stake, a new plan by the United Nations to ease the deepening presidential election crisis here appeared to falter nearly as quickly as it was proposed, posing a new obstacle to resolving the dispute just hours before Secretary of State John Kerry arrived here early Friday. KABUL, Afghanistan — With the viability of the Afghan government at stake, a new plan by the United Nations to ease the deepening presidential election crisis here appeared to falter nearly as quickly as it was proposed, posing a new obstacle to resolving the dispute just hours before Secretary of State John Kerry arrived here early Friday.
Mr. Kerry added a trip to Afghanistan to try to mediate between the two candidates, Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah. Mr. Abdullah claims that the election’s legitimacy has been bankrupted by extensive vote-rigging in favor of Mr. Ghani, and this week, he warned that he would declare himself president, in essence trying to seize power, if his accusations were not fully addressed.Mr. Kerry added a trip to Afghanistan to try to mediate between the two candidates, Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah. Mr. Abdullah claims that the election’s legitimacy has been bankrupted by extensive vote-rigging in favor of Mr. Ghani, and this week, he warned that he would declare himself president, in essence trying to seize power, if his accusations were not fully addressed.
The tough talk from the Abdullah camp has continued despite statements from Western officials emphasizing the need for unity in Afghanistan, a country with a history of civil strife that has often played out along ethnic lines. Senior American officials have warned that billions of dollars in international aid is at stake, and more recently, German officials privately warned the Abdullah campaign that they might pull out their security trainers and cut off aid if there is a move to set up a breakaway government, Afghan officials said.The tough talk from the Abdullah camp has continued despite statements from Western officials emphasizing the need for unity in Afghanistan, a country with a history of civil strife that has often played out along ethnic lines. Senior American officials have warned that billions of dollars in international aid is at stake, and more recently, German officials privately warned the Abdullah campaign that they might pull out their security trainers and cut off aid if there is a move to set up a breakaway government, Afghan officials said.
The United Nations proposal centered on a special audit of suspected fraudulent votes, and it appeared to be a winner when the office of President Hamid Karzai called reporters shortly after midnight Friday, the beginning of the Afghan weekend, to spread the news of the new plan.The United Nations proposal centered on a special audit of suspected fraudulent votes, and it appeared to be a winner when the office of President Hamid Karzai called reporters shortly after midnight Friday, the beginning of the Afghan weekend, to spread the news of the new plan.
Aimal Faizi, the spokesman for Mr. Karzai, said the president was backing the proposal, which involved a deeper audit of votes from 8,000 polling stations, or about 43 percent of the 8.1 million ballots cast. The plan had been presented to Mr. Karzai on Thursday evening by Jan Kubis, the special United Nations envoy for Afghanistan, who was to brief Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Ghani about it later on Friday, Mr. Faizi said.Aimal Faizi, the spokesman for Mr. Karzai, said the president was backing the proposal, which involved a deeper audit of votes from 8,000 polling stations, or about 43 percent of the 8.1 million ballots cast. The plan had been presented to Mr. Karzai on Thursday evening by Jan Kubis, the special United Nations envoy for Afghanistan, who was to brief Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Ghani about it later on Friday, Mr. Faizi said.
But within minutes, Mr. Abdullah’s campaign said it had already made clear to United Nations officials that the plan was not acceptable during discussions on Thursday about possible ways out of the crisis. A senior aide to Mr. Abdullah said the campaign had its own plan, which would entail audits of votes from about 11,000 of the roughly 22,000 polling stations.But within minutes, Mr. Abdullah’s campaign said it had already made clear to United Nations officials that the plan was not acceptable during discussions on Thursday about possible ways out of the crisis. A senior aide to Mr. Abdullah said the campaign had its own plan, which would entail audits of votes from about 11,000 of the roughly 22,000 polling stations.
The aide said the Abdullah camp’s plan also called for foreign officials to conduct the audits, or for Mr. Karzai to replace the head of the Election Complaints Commission, who is seen by many Afghan and Western officials as a pro-Ghani partisan.The aide said the Abdullah camp’s plan also called for foreign officials to conduct the audits, or for Mr. Karzai to replace the head of the Election Complaints Commission, who is seen by many Afghan and Western officials as a pro-Ghani partisan.
Mr. Ghani’s campaign and United Nations officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Mr. Ghani’s campaign and United Nations officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
But the United Nations proposal appeared likely to pass muster with Mr. Ghani, especially because it had the backing of Mr. Karzai. This week, his campaign was pushing a plan to audit the votes from more than 7,000 stations during talks with the Abdullah campaign.But the United Nations proposal appeared likely to pass muster with Mr. Ghani, especially because it had the backing of Mr. Karzai. This week, his campaign was pushing a plan to audit the votes from more than 7,000 stations during talks with the Abdullah campaign.
The talks collapsed Monday when the Afghan Independent Election Commission announced preliminary results that gave Mr. Ghani a commanding lead over Mr. Abdullah. The announcement was made over the objections of Western officials who had pushed for a delay to allow the candidates to keep talking in hopes that they could strike a deal for an audit acceptable to both sides.The talks collapsed Monday when the Afghan Independent Election Commission announced preliminary results that gave Mr. Ghani a commanding lead over Mr. Abdullah. The announcement was made over the objections of Western officials who had pushed for a delay to allow the candidates to keep talking in hopes that they could strike a deal for an audit acceptable to both sides.
The preliminary results also caught Mr. Abdullah off guard — officials with his campaign said they thought the announcement, which had already been pushed back by days, was going to be further delayed to allow their discussions with the Ghani camp to continue.The preliminary results also caught Mr. Abdullah off guard — officials with his campaign said they thought the announcement, which had already been pushed back by days, was going to be further delayed to allow their discussions with the Ghani camp to continue.
Instead, Mr. Abdullah told angry supporters the next day that President Obama had called him, that Mr. Kerry would be in Afghanistan on Friday and that he wanted to wait to see what would happen. But if a solution was not quickly found, he warned, he would declare his own government.Instead, Mr. Abdullah told angry supporters the next day that President Obama had called him, that Mr. Kerry would be in Afghanistan on Friday and that he wanted to wait to see what would happen. But if a solution was not quickly found, he warned, he would declare his own government.