Afghans Vote, Foes Cry Foul

By Tim McGirk

Despite threats of violence--which didn't materialize--Afghans braved dust storms and mountain blizzards to cast ballots in their country's first ever elections last weekend. But the vote was thrown into uncertainty when all 15 opponents of President Hamid Karzai (who is widely expected to win) declared it a "preplanned fraud." They charged that the polling was marred by circulation of 100,000 fake ballots, that some polling places were shut down when the tally turned against Karzai, and that the indelible ink mark put on voters' fingers to prevent multiple votes wore off too easily. "These elections were illegal," said candidate Ahmed Shah Ahmedzai. "And so is any government elected by this vote." The claims will be hard to prove or disprove, as the U.N. was able to field just 200 observers to cover 5,000 polling stations. Counting the vote could take three weeks. Meanwhile, Afghans fear that several of Karzai's foes, warlords backed by private armies, could stir up trouble. --By Tim McGirk