Voter Intimidation, Ballot Box Stuffing, and "White-Ex": Fraud Accusations in Afghan Vote Too Many to Count

Qari Fazel Ahmad is undeniably a man. Nevertheless, the 65-year-old resident of Herat used a woman's voter registration card when he cast his ballot on election day.

"Women's cards don't have photos," he explained. "But nobody looked at my card, anyway."

Cases of alleged fraud in Afghanistan's presidential and provincial council elections, held on August 20, are now so numerous and so varied that it may take weeks or even months to deal with them all.

As of Wednesday, August 26, the number of complaints had swelled to over 1,000, with the Electoral Complaints Commission, ECC, warning that the deadline for the official results -- September 17 -- was unlikely to be met.

Preliminary figures are now being released gradually by the Independent Election Commission, IEC. Many observers feel the aim is to drain the energy and anger from frustrated voters.

On the evening of August 25, the IEC issued its first report, putting the incumbent, President Hamed Karzai, just slightly ahead of his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah. With just over 550,000 votes officially tallied, Karzai had received 212,927, and Abdullah 202,889.

Few doubt that the proportions will change dramatically as the results from the southern provinces begin to be added to the mix. Insiders are already predicting that Karzai will gain a first-round victory, with over 70 per cent of the vote.

In the meantime, fraud allegations have been the dominant issue in the post-election debate.

Enormous coverage was given to the "indelible" ink used to mark voters' fingers.

According to numerous sources, a chemical compound called White-Ex in some cases removed the ink easily and completely, apparently allowing people to go again and again to the polls. All that was needed was a valid voter registration card and a clean finger -- but as Qari Fazel can testify, both of those requirements were flexible.

"I saw lots of people who voted many times," he said. "They knew the registration team, so they did not have to put their finger in the ink."

Mohammad said he was one such multiple-voter. He purchased White-Ex at a shop near the polling center.

"I was able to vote three times," he laughed. He was not, however, so pleased by the price he had to pay for his White-Ex. The cost increased precipitously as the elections drove up demand.

But faulty ink, hole punchers that would not penetrate plastic voter registration cards, late opening times at polling centers, even occasional shortages of ballots, are unlikely to affect the results of the elections, say the ECC.

Much more serious were stories of alleged ballot-box stuffing, stealing of ballot boxes, gross falsification of turnout figures and direct voter intimidation.

With almost half of the country considered volatile or insecure, Afghanistan has many no-go zones for observers. This eased the task of vote-riggers.

One province that was largely off-limits was Maidan Wardak, whose border lies just 25 kilometres from Kabul.

Out of Wardak's eight districts, six had almost no polling stations, and just a handful of voters. The results, however, tell a different story.

"In our district, the polling station was under continuous fire," said Rohani, a resident of Nerkh district in Wardak. "Nobody but the police and a couple of others voted. But they reported hundreds of ballots. It is clear there was fraud."

Mohammad Sarwar Rahmanzai, a resident of Sayedabad district in Wardak, also believes that the election was not transparent.

"In Sayedabad, Chak, Daimirdad and Nerkh districts, no election happened, really," he said. "Nobody's finger was stained in these districts, so nobody has any idea who cast all the votes."

The IEC authorities in Wardak acknowledge that there were problems in the voting process.