EU: Afghanistan Elections Not Free Everywhere due to Terror

World | August 22, 2009, Saturday // 10:28|  views

Philippe Morillon (C), chief observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission to Afghanistan, sits with his associates as he talks with journalists during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, 22 August 2009.

The Friday presidential and local elections in Afghanistan were not free in all of the country because of violence and terror.

This was stated in Kabul Saturday by the head of the EU observer mission, Philippe Morillon.

"Generally, what we have observed was considered by our observers with our methodology good and fair," Morillon said, as cited by BGNES, stressing it was still too early days to give a thorough assessment of the elections.

A statement of the EU mission of observers said that the voter turnout was very high in the north of Afghanistan, and much lower in the south of the country as a number of violent attacks by Taliban fighters targeted polling stations and government buildings on Election Day.

Both incumbent President Hamid Karzai and his main rival former Foreign Minister, Abdullah Abdullah, have claimed to be in the lead but no final figures are available yet.

"We can say it is a victory, a victory for the Afghan people," EU chief observer Morillon said in Kabul.

 

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Tags: Afghanistan, Presidential elections, Hamid Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah, EU, observers, Taliban

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