The protracted dispute over fraud in the Afghan election started seven weeks ago. The Abdullah campaign, fairly early on, released audiotapes claimed to show Afghan officials, including the head of the election commission, planning ballot stuffing. The authenticity of the audiotapes is not known.
John Kerry made an emergency visit to Kabul four weeks ago. He hashed out an agreement between the campaigns, that all voting would be audited under international supervision. And which also had a deal, not about auditing, but about restructuring the Afghan government to having a Prime Minister, the details of which are now in dispute.
Kerry, last week, published an editorial in Tolo News, distancing the U.S. from stronger takes on the plan coming from the Abdullah campaign. And saying that the U.S. had not cooked up a plan, in a back room with a few warlords and technocrats, to ignore the Afghan constitution, which had been cooked up by the U.S., in a back room with a few warlords and technocrats, back in 2003.
It's not for outsiders to describe the contents of the political framework both candidates accepted a few days ago. But I was there in the room, and I can tell you what is not in that one-page document.
It does not violate the Afghan constitution – it respects Afghan institutions and the role of the president as the head of government. It does not establish a parliamentary system – it creates a new position of chief executive who will report to the president until the president convenes a loya jirga to determine whether a permanent change is in the best interests of the country.
Op-Ed from Secretary Kerry
Another audiotape has been released by the Abdullah campaign. This one said to be of First Vice President Karim Khalili. In the tape of unknown authenticity, Khalili discusses the plot, by the US/UN, to steal the election from Abdullah, during the current internationally supervised audit.
“Our international friends have promised us that by using any means and using any opportunity, the election outcome must turn in favor of this team, even if these opportunities, even if these means are against electoral mechanisms,” the voice said.
Disputes Threaten to Derail Audit of Afghanistan Vote
Take the tape either way, as real or fake. It is a very considerable mess.
Either, the Abdullah campaign is cooking up more audiotapes, again setting Afghanistan on a path to civil war, which had been at least temporarily avoided. And the international community will continue to deal with the guy, because of his threat of civil war stuff.
Or, the UN and the US, the international community, are stealing the election in Afghanistan. Which just ends up in the same place.