JURIST - Paper Chase: Fraud investigation delays Afghan election results

[JURIST] The UN-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) [official website] said Sunday that the results from the country's September legislative election [JURIST report] are being delayed because of investigations into fraud complaints [JURIST report]. The final counts were originally supposed to be announced on October 19, but the slow pace of vote counting pushed the announcement date back to the beginning of November, and now the commission expects a delay of a few more days. A total of 2,300 complaints were filed with the commission, 500 of which stem from allegations of fraud, including ballot box stuffing, intimidation of voters, and fraudulent activities in counting the results. Candidates and their supporters have organized rallies in major cities including Kabul to protest the fraud and earlier this month, approximately fifty election workers were dismissed under suspicion of fraud [JURIST report]. According to provisional results already announced by the commission [JEMB electoral map], dozens of local warlords seem to have won seats in parliament, but this could be balanced out by women candidates who are guaranteed at least 68 of the 249 parliamentary seats. Reuters has more.

For a one-stop snapshot of the latest legal news that matters, with breaking documents, new legal videos, live law-related webcasts, commentary by expert law professors and more - all updated through the day in real time, with no ads and no registration barriers - visit JURIST's homepage and check back often...