By J Alexander Thier
Today in Kabul
both President Karzai and the Independent Election Commission announced that
they would accept the findings of the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) and
agreed to a runoff election on November 7 this year. The ECC released its
findings on Sunday, throwing out some 1.25 million ballots from the August 20
contest due to fraud.
With nearly one million of those ballots coming from
Karzai's tally, his percentage of the vote dropped to 48.3 percent, below the
50 percent plus one needed to avoid a runoff. Dr. Abdullah had nearly 200,000
votes thrown out due to fraud, but saw his overall percentage climb to 31.5.
President Karzai said
in a press conference that he and his government "welcome the decision made by
the Independent Election Commission, we believe the decision is legitimate,
legal and according to the constitution of Afghanistan." Karzai's acceptance
of the outcome of the two-month-long fraud investigation by the ECC is a triumph
for the ECC, the election process, and for Afghanistan as a whole.
During the last two months, many commentators have suggested
that the elections are not meaningful to Afghans and that we should simply move
on and accept Karzai's victory. But the most important and frequently
overlooked aspect of this process was not simply about the outcome of the
election itself, but whether the powerful -- in this case Karzai -- would be
subordinated to the law. The election process and the ensuing fraud reinforce a
narrative of corruption and impunity about the government. This perception
feeds resentment and apathy towards the government and creates a conducive
environment for the insurgency.
The fact that a long and deliberative investigation that
collected thousands of complaints from citizens, that examined ballot boxes
from all 34 provinces, and that brought Afghans and the international community
together to support a difficult but just outcome, is truly cause for
celebration.
Alexander Thier is
the Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the US Institute of Peace. He is
co-author and editor of "The Future of Afghanistan" (USIP, 2009). He lived
in Afghanistan
for about 7 of the last 16 years, and travels there frequently.
Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
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