.UN officials in Afghanistan at odds over election
KABUL (AP) - A top American official at the United Nations mission in Afghanistan has temporarily left the country following a disagreement with his boss over how to respond to widespread allegations of vote fraud in the Aug. 20 presidential election, officials said Tuesday.
The official, Peter Galbraith, a former U.S. ambassador to Croatia and currently the deputy special U.N. representative for Afghanistan, was in charge of political affairs. He left the country on Sunday.
The top U.N. official in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said Galbraith himself suggested that he leave the country for a short time. Eide said he expects Galbraith to return.
Galbraith told the Associated Press Tuesday by telephone from Vermont that he and Eide disagreed over how to deal with the fraud allegations. "But that does not mean we're not both opposed to it," he said.
On Sept. 6, Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission, the body in charge of the election, voted overwhelmingly to apply a set of standards to their count that likely would have excluded tens of thousands of votes, he said. But the next day the commission reversed itself and said it had no legal authority to enforce those standards, he said.
"I leave it to others to decide the plausibility of their decision," he said.
Galbraith said he planned to return to Kabul after he gives the U.N. Security Council a quarterly update on Afghanistan.
Eide confirmed that the two split over election issues. "Primarily, we had a somewhat different approach to the election process," he told The Associated Press.
He declined to say what the differences were, but he added there had been "no critical reaction" from the international community over Galbraith's leaving, including from the U.S. Embassy.
The disagreement between top U.N. officials exposes the tensions within Kabul's diplomatic community over how to respond to the election's messy aftermath. On Tuesday, the U.N.-backed complaints commission ordered the Afghan election commission to recount ballots from about 10 percent of polling sites because of possible fraud.
That increases the likelihood of a runoff between incumbent President Hamid Karzai and his top challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, who claims the election has been rigged in Karzai's favor. Resolving the election could take weeks and fears are growing of political unrest.
Nearly complete preliminary results show Karzai with 54 percent and Abdullah with 28 percent, but Karzai is likely to lose thousands of votes after fraud allegations are examined, which could push him below the 50 percent threshold for outright victory.
Eide said he believes a second-round vote could be held before winter sets in, if necessary.
"To delay the process until summer next year, it would leave us without a legitimate government in a country that is in a serious armed conflict, and I think that's dangerous," he said.
But the departure of Galbraith raised questions about how much pressure the U.N. team here might be applying to election officials and whether the U.N. and U.S. see eye to eye on the counting process.
"Go to the U.S. Embassy and ask if they can put a razor blade between my position and their position. Our views are identical," Eide said. "It's tremendously important for me now not to be seen as doing anything else but slavishly follow the rules and laws that have been established. That to me is absolutely key."
A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman, Caitlin Hayden, said: "Our relationship with UNAMA is strong and stronger than it's ever been," referring to the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Galbraith arrived at his U.N. post in June. He worked for the U.N. in East Timor in 2000-2001 and as the U.S. ambassador to Croatia from 1993 to 1998.
MyWay
the hour is upon us.
The official, Peter Galbraith, a former U.S. ambassador to Croatia and currently the deputy special U.N. representative for Afghanistan, was in charge of political affairs. He left the country on Sunday.
The top U.N. official in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said Galbraith himself suggested that he leave the country for a short time. Eide said he expects Galbraith to return.
Galbraith told the Associated Press Tuesday by telephone from Vermont that he and Eide disagreed over how to deal with the fraud allegations. "But that does not mean we're not both opposed to it," he said.
On Sept. 6, Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission, the body in charge of the election, voted overwhelmingly to apply a set of standards to their count that likely would have excluded tens of thousands of votes, he said. But the next day the commission reversed itself and said it had no legal authority to enforce those standards, he said.
"I leave it to others to decide the plausibility of their decision," he said.
Galbraith said he planned to return to Kabul after he gives the U.N. Security Council a quarterly update on Afghanistan.
Eide confirmed that the two split over election issues. "Primarily, we had a somewhat different approach to the election process," he told The Associated Press.
He declined to say what the differences were, but he added there had been "no critical reaction" from the international community over Galbraith's leaving, including from the U.S. Embassy.
The disagreement between top U.N. officials exposes the tensions within Kabul's diplomatic community over how to respond to the election's messy aftermath. On Tuesday, the U.N.-backed complaints commission ordered the Afghan election commission to recount ballots from about 10 percent of polling sites because of possible fraud.
That increases the likelihood of a runoff between incumbent President Hamid Karzai and his top challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, who claims the election has been rigged in Karzai's favor. Resolving the election could take weeks and fears are growing of political unrest.
Nearly complete preliminary results show Karzai with 54 percent and Abdullah with 28 percent, but Karzai is likely to lose thousands of votes after fraud allegations are examined, which could push him below the 50 percent threshold for outright victory.
Eide said he believes a second-round vote could be held before winter sets in, if necessary.
"To delay the process until summer next year, it would leave us without a legitimate government in a country that is in a serious armed conflict, and I think that's dangerous," he said.
But the departure of Galbraith raised questions about how much pressure the U.N. team here might be applying to election officials and whether the U.N. and U.S. see eye to eye on the counting process.
"Go to the U.S. Embassy and ask if they can put a razor blade between my position and their position. Our views are identical," Eide said. "It's tremendously important for me now not to be seen as doing anything else but slavishly follow the rules and laws that have been established. That to me is absolutely key."
A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman, Caitlin Hayden, said: "Our relationship with UNAMA is strong and stronger than it's ever been," referring to the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Galbraith arrived at his U.N. post in June. He worked for the U.N. in East Timor in 2000-2001 and as the U.S. ambassador to Croatia from 1993 to 1998.
MyWay
the hour is upon us.
posted by madtom at 12:12 AM
6 Comments:
So what would you bet on--- McChrystal gets his 40000 troops, O maintains the status quo which is sacrifice for no goal, or effective withdrawal? I go for the middle choice because it's the most cowardly and politically acceptable.
If those are the only choices, I'll take door #1
"McChrystal gets his 40000 troops"
And throw out all the bad votes, and go for the runoff next spring. What the worst case, an ineffective afghan government.
We got that now.
O needs to put out the garbage
I'd take door number one, too, but I asked which you think is more likely? He's put himself in a hell of a bind. Must win good war is something I'm certain he doesn't believe and I know his fellow Democrats don't believe, but is 'racism' a big enough shield to protect him should he bail out now? Will the Left stick with him if he surges? Gonna cost him big politically no matter which way he goes.
That's what I said, door #1
Rush opined today on the subject and said the same thing, #1. So if I am wrong, I'm at least in good company.
Like you just said, if people disagree, it must be they are racist.
WEll, who am I to argue with you AND Rush? I guess those racist democrats will have to oppose him, cuz I doubt he can come even close to a majority of his own party when it comes to a vote for $s.
Biden is talking about troops leaving Iraq early, so maybe they're reshuffling the deck, or the chairs...At this point I don't think the outcomes can be foreseen very well.
None look very rosy
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